The dispute between Argentina and Spain after a Spanish minister accused Milei of consuming “substances”

Diplomatic relations between Spain and Argentina are experiencing one of the most tense moments in recent years after a Spanish minister suggested that the Argentine president Javier Mileihad used drugs.

The statements received an immediate response from the presidency Argentinawho worsened the dispute by directly attacking the president of the Spanish government, Pedro Sancheswhom he pointed out for having “compromised” the unity of the country.

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The fight started last Friday round table organized by the Socialist Party (PSOE) in Salamancain which the Spanish Minister of Transport, Oscar PuenteI say that Milei ingested “substances” during her election campaign last year.

Referring to the appearance of the then Argentine candidate on television during his electoral campaign last year, Puente assured that he did not know what state he was in. Mileiif “before ingestion or after ingestion of I don’t know what substances.”

Likewise, speaking of “authenticity” and encouraging his audience to “be themselves without fear”, the minister said that “There are very bad people who, by being themselves, have reached the top. Milei, for example. trump,” he told attendees.

“I don’t know if they will have advisors. USA MileiOf course, if he has advisors, I don’t think he listens much”, he concluded. Oscar Puente.

The Argentine president’s response was immediate and, in an official statement published on social media by President’s Office, Milei condemned the “slander and insults” made by Puente and attacked the policies of Sánchez’s socialist government.

Furthermore, Argentine Interior Minister Guillermo Francos called for Puente’s resignation: “if I were president, I would ask him to resign,” he said in an interview with Argentina’s Radio Miter.

Oscar Puentewho was mayor of Valladolid before assuming the Transport portfolio in November 2023, is one of the ministers in the government led by Pedro Sánchez who has been the protagonist of the most controversies, partly due to direct and, according to his critics, reckless language, which He does not hesitate to use on social media and in public speeches.

The clash comes after a cooling of relations between the two countries since the election of the far-right Argentine leader.

The Spanish Transport Minister, Óscar Puente, is one of the most controversial members of the government. (GET IMAGES).

Communications crossing

In its response, the office of Milei said Spain has more important things to resolve, such as corruption allegations against Sánchez’s wifewhich the Madrid prosecutor said should be archived due to lack of evidence.

The news It goes on to say that the government president’s socialist policies have brought “death and poverty” to the Spanish people, “put Spanish women at risk by allowing the illegal immigration of those who threaten their physical integrity” and undermined the integrity of Spain by making agreements with separatists, in reference to the coalition government with the largest pro-independence party in Catalonia.

For your part, The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement in which it “categorically rejects the unfounded terms” which “do not correspond to the relations of two brotherly countries and peoples”.

Mileiwho assumed the Argentine presidency on December 10, publicly supported Spain’s far-right anti-immigration party Vox.

It is anticipated that the argentine president Visited Spain attend the launch of the European election campaign of Vox next May 18th. It is not the first time that the leader of La Libertad Avanza has participated in a party rally led by Santiago Abascal.

In 2022, for example, Milei gave a speech in support of Vox in which he praised the values ​​that unite the two partiesand repeated the ideology with which he was later elected in Argentina, such as that “social justice is a violent and unjust idea” or that “socialism is the machine of impoverishment”.

This time, however, Milei will travel to Spain as president, but does not plan to meet either Pedro Sánchez or King Felipe VI.

This is not, however, the Argentine president’s first dispute with other world leaders.

In their long history of feuds, Milei described the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, as a “raging communist” and “corrupt,” and called the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, “ignorant.”

He also called Colombian President Gustavo Petro a “terrorist murderer,” referring to the fact that he was a member of a guerrilla group in the past. In response, Colombia expelled several Argentine diplomats, although the waters calmed after communication with Argentine Foreign Minister Diana Mondino.

Regarding Pope Francis, Milei said during the campaign that he was “the representative of the Evil One on Earth”, although he later retracted his statements upon assuming the presidency.

Source: Elcomercio