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Trump administration confirms its support for Milei's Argentina after reaching a $20 billion currency swap deal

The Argentine peso closed at 1.418 per dollar, up 0.8% on the day, after falling 3% earlier, while the bond maturing in 2035 rose 4.5 cents, trading at 60.5 cents per dollar.

Bessent in the Oval Office/ Allison Robbert

Bessent in the Oval Office/ Allison RobbertAFP

Published by
Luis Francisco Orozco

TThe State Department on Thursday culminated a major $20 billion currency swap deal with the Argentine government, also announcing that it bought pesos on the open market to fulfill the president's promise Donald Trump to prop up the South American nation, triggering a considerable rise in both the peso and Argentine dollar bonds. The Argentine peso closed at 1.418 per dollar, up 0.8 % on the day, after falling 3 % earlier, while the bond maturing in 2035 rose 4.5 cents, trading at 60.5 cents per dollar.

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"TThe U.S. Treasury is prepared, immediately, to take whatever exceptional measures are warranted to provide stability to markets," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in announcing the measures via his X account. The Trump administration official issued his statement at the end of four days of meetings with Argentine Economy Minister Luis Caputo, which also included officials from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

"Argentina faces a moment of acute illiquidity. The international community – including @IMFNews – is unified behind Argentina and its prudent fiscal strategy, but only the United States can act swiftly. And act we will. To that end, we directly purchased Argentine pesos," the Treasury secretary added in his release.

Rescue to Milei

The action taken by the Trump Administration represents a genuine financial bailout to the Javier Milei, as it keeps him afloat in the midst of the final phase of the legislative elections that will take place next October 26, in the midst of what many analysts have described as the most delicate period that the current right-wing government has experienced, which has been strongly affected recently by different political scandals.

Given this fact, several Democratic Party senators have expressed their discontent with the measure announced by Bessent, arguing that Trump is offering funding to protect or bail out foreign governments and global investors, even in the midst of the government shutdown.

Biggest ally in South America

Since his surprise victory in the last presidential election, Milei has become Trump's and the Republican Party's top ally in the region, to the point of having adopted several of the key points of the U.S. conservative agenda. The last case was the designation of the Venezuelan drug trafficking group Cartel of the Suns as a terrorist organization.


During his first Administration, Trump also found in an Argentinean ruler one of his greatest allies in this region of the world. At that time it was former President Mauricio Macri, whom the Republican leader already knew during his years in the private sector.

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