MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

U.S. Treasury Secretary praises Milei and defends U.S. currency swap as bilateral alignment deepens

Bessent claimed it was “very clear” that Kirchnerist sectors were trying to “trigger a market disruption” to affect the electoral landscape

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent praised Argentine President Javier Milei and defended the currency swap deal between the two countries, offering a mix of political and financial backing that the Trump administration frames as part of its broader Latin America strategy.

In an interview carried by Argentine media La Derecha Diario/RAV Español, Bessent said Milei “is going from being a great thinker to becoming a high-level politician,” and described Argentina as “the central objective of the U.S. strategy in Latin America.”

Bessent also linked the arrangement to market turbulence and Argentina’s domestic politics. In the same interview, he claimed it was “very clear” that Kirchnerist sectors were trying to “trigger a market disruption” to affect the electoral landscape—an allegation made without publicly presenting evidence in that format.

A US$20 billion swap and scrutiny in Washington

The swap—presented by the Trump administration as a financial “stabilization” tool—totals US$20 billion and was signed with Argentina’s central bank. The arrangement also included direct U.S. purchases of Argentine pesos in the market, according to that report.

Bessent argued it was not a giveaway. “Everyone said, ‘Oh, they’re giving the Argentines $20 billion.’ No, no, no… That was a loan,” he said, adding that Washington profited: “We ended up making money on the transaction.”

Reuters previously reported that Bessent said the Treasury made gains under the structure and that Argentina has already repaid US$2.5 billion. In the United States, critics cast the deal as a politically motivated bailout, while the administration described it as a bridge to maintain macroeconomic stabilization and market confidence in a country long battered by currency crises.

Political signals and Buenos Aires’ debate

Bessent’s remarks reinforce the perception of a close Milei–Trump relationship with implications beyond economics. In the interview, the Treasury secretary suggested Argentina’s pivot could reshape regional dynamics, naming several South American countries as potential candidates to “turn” toward Washington.

In Argentina, the government has defended the deal as a way to contain financial stress and support its reform agenda, while opposition figures and analysts continue to debate the political cost of deepening alignment with the United States—and the practical limits of the “stabilization” the agreement is meant to deliver.