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Milei government reaches agreement with US for joint patrols in the South Atlantic

Javier Milei’s government announced Wednesday the signing of an agreement with the United States to strengthen “its surveillance and control capabilities in the South Atlantic,” according to an official statement. The deal runs for five years and means, on one hand, a U.S. contribution of technology to modernize the South American country’s naval equipment and, on the other, authorization for forces from U.S. Southern Command to take part in patrolling Argentina’s southern sea.

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Aircraft configured for monitoring and maritime surveillance, in a file photo.
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Washington describes protests in Bolivia as an attempted ‘coup d’état’

The protests in Bolivia against the government of Rodrigo Paz — which began with a series of strikes earlier this month and have erupted into a nationwide movement, particularly in La Paz, the seat of government — represent an attempt at a “coup d’état.” That was the unequivocal statement made on Tuesday by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Landau, after revealing that he had just spoken by phone with Bolivia’s conservative president.

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© Juan Karita (AP Photo/Juan Karita)

Anti-government protests near El Alt, Bolivia, on May 16.
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Massive protest against cuts to public universities in Argentina: ‘It is our future as a society, as a people’

Enormous banners erected across Plaza de Mayo and the surrounding avenues in downtown Buenos Aires repeated the same slogan: “Milei, comply with the law.” Hundreds of thousands of people chanted it this Tuesday as they marched to demand that Argentina’s hardline government halt its cuts to public universities and release the funds approved by Congress. “The funding of the national university system is in a critical state, and the main cause is that the national government is failing to comply with the basic democratic and constitutional rule: to uphold the university funding law, which establishes a minimum level of resources that ensures the normal functioning of the system,” denounced academic authorities, faculty members and students in a joint statement read at the main protest event. The administration of Javier Milei labeled the federal university march an “opposition act” and reiterated that it will not release the requested funds.

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© Rodrigo Abd (AP)

Aerial view of the protest in Buenos Aires, this Tuesday.
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In Argentina, professors, students and university authorities march against Milei’s cuts

On Avenida Córdoba, one of Buenos Aires’ busiest avenues, one lane remains closed. With desks set up on the asphalt, about 50 economics students listen to a professor who, while sketching on a plastic whiteboard, tries to rise above the noise of cars and buses. The same scene was repeated this Monday on different streets and squares in the Argentine capital, as well as in other cities across the country.

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Dean Leandro Vergara gives a public lecture on the steps of the Law School on Monday.
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‘Hondurasgate,’ the alleged US and Israeli interference plot to destabilize Mexico and other progressive governments

The United States and Israel, with the help of Honduras, are allegedly positioning themselves on the geopolitical chessboard to control spheres of influence in Latin America. The news outlet Diario Red en América Latina and the website Hondurasgate have revealed, in an investigation based on leaked audio recordings, the interventionist intentions of leaders of the global right. One piece of evidence, released at the end of April, claims that former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, pardoned by Donald Trump from his 45-year sentence for drug trafficking — with the support of the Republican president himself, his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei, and the current Honduran administration — are conspiring to create a channel for disseminating fake news with the intention of spreading misinformation and destabilizing the governments of Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico.

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© Michael Brochstein (LightRocket vía Getty Images)

Juan Orlando Hernández in Washington on March 24, 2018.
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Trips, properties, and cash payments: Suspicions of corruption plague Milei’s chief of staff

Corruption cases continue to plague Javier Milei’s government. Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni reappeared before the local press on Monday and denied illicit enrichment, but just minutes after his statement, new developments emerged in the legal case investigating him: a supplier testified that Adorni paid him $245,000 in cash without an invoice for lavish renovations on one of the properties he has acquired since becoming a public official. Meanwhile, a new scandal has reached the courts regarding millions of dollars in irregular expenses detected at Nucleoeléctrica Argentina, the company that operates Argentina’s nuclear power plants. These expenditures include payments for five-star hotels, beach services, hair salons, bars, duty-free shops, and cash withdrawals.

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© Mariana Nedelcu (REUTERS)

Manuel Adorni at the National Congress in Buenos Aires, April 29.
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In Argentina, corruption scandals encircling Milei’s government come before Congress

Argentina’s chief of Cabinet, Manuel Adorni, has become a liability for President Javier Milei. The luxury trips he took with his family and the properties he purchased after entering government are under judicial investigation and have tanked his public image, which is now the worst among all ministers: seven in 10 Argentines disapprove of him.

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© Agustin Marcarian (REUTERS)

Javier Milei at the Congress of Argentina, on March 1.
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World Bank prepared to guarantee up to $2 billion in loans for Argentina

World Bank President Ajay Banga (left) with Argentina’s Economy Minister Luis Caputo (right) Image Source: Luis Caputo via X

Buenos Aires, Argentina – The World Bank announced on Thursday that it is preparing to back up to US$2 billion worth of loans in order to help Argentina refinance its debt at a lower cost.

The loans – which Argentina is negotiating with private banks – would be repayable over six years, and would be almost fully backed by two World Bank institutions: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, Bloomberg reported.

Meanwhile, the IMF is gearing up to disburse another US$1 billion of the $20 billion it had made available to the country last year, as the White House rallies support for its ally, Argentine President Javier Milei. 

The guarantee will come as welcome news for Milei, who has seen his approval drop to a low of 36.4% in recent polls as monthly inflation soared to its highest rate in a year

The World Bank’s announcement followed a meeting between Argentina’s Economy Minister Luis Caputo and World Bank President Ajay Banga. 

Caputo posted a photo with Banga on social media after the announcement, captioned “Thank you Ajay and team!”

The minister is currently in Washington for IMF meetings, as he looks for funding in order to refinance Argentina’s debt. He told investors earlier this week that Milei’s government will not need to access global capital markets this year due to cheaper financing options.

Argentina is reportedly negotiating an interest rate of about 5%, which would be a far better outcome than the 9% bond yields that it faces if it returns to global capital markets. 

A separate agreement was reached with the IMF on Wednesday, which will see Argentina gain access to US$1 billion if approved by the organization’s executive board. 

The country already has an ongoing US$20 billion IMF program and access to an additional US$20 billion through a swap line with the U.S. Treasury.

In the World Bank Group’s announcement released on Thursday, it also “reaffirmed its strong support for Argentina’s reform efforts to strengthen the conditions for growth, investment, and job creation, including measures to improve financing conditions and reinforce market and investor confidence.”

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