Spain "definitively" withdraws its ambassador in Buenos Aires after Javier Milei's criticism of Pedro Sanchez

This Tuesday, the Spanish Government announced new measures against Argentina in the middle of a diplomatic crisis. After the Council of Ministers meeting in Madrid, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, announced the definitive withdrawal of the Spanish ambassador in Buenos Aires, María Jesús Alonso Jiménez. The decision of the Spanish Government comes after the Argentine Executive of Javier Milei reaffirmed his comments about Begoña Gómez, the wife of the Spanish Head of Government, Pedro Sánchez.

This is a new step in the diplomatic crisis between the two countries, which broke out after some statements made by the Spanish Socialist Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Óscar Puente, who suggested that the Argentine President ingests "substances" when he goes out to give speeches and rallies, accusing him of an alleged drug addiction. Minister Puente's comments provoked a strong reaction from the Argentine government, which then published a scathing statement in which references were made to the socialist policies of the Spanish government, described as disastrous, as well as to the investigation for corruption and influence peddling of which the wife of Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is the subject.

The tone was raised again this past weekend when Javier Milei traveled to Spain to attend a series of rallies organized by the conservative Vox party. At these events, Milei took the floor and once again accused Begoña Gómez of corruption. Milei's speech prompted a recall of the Spanish ambassador in Buenos Aires as well as a meeting between the Argentine ambassador in Madrid, Roberto Bosch, and Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares.

Despite these meetings, Javier Milei's cabinet communicated that the Argentine president will not rectify his words. In response, Spain withdrew its ambassador in Buenos Aires. The diplomatic mission will remain in the hands of a chargé d'affaires. "For those who want to understand, collaboration is always more powerful than confrontation," said Minister Albares during his address to the media on Tuesday.

Milei calls for "nonsense"

The Argentine president reacted to the decision of the Spanish government to definitively withdraw the ambassador in Buenos Aires. "What is happening is literally a nonsense typical of a fatally arrogant socialist. He is so fatally arrogant that over a personal problem for a phrase that did not contain names, he felt alluded to, and from there he makes an absolutely senseless diplomatic escalation", asserted Javier Milei.