Insults, arrests, and an embassy siege. A look at the Milei-Maduro relationship

Argentine President Javier Milei was one of the few Latin American leaders to unquestionably celebrate the U.S. military intervention that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on Saturday.  In a post on X, he used his trademark phrase to show his satisfaction with the outcome: “FREEDOM ADVANCES. LONG LIVE FREEDOM, DAMN IT!”   The statement is in line with the openly contentious relationship the two have had since the far-right economist became president in 2023. Milei and Maduro have spared no blows when dealing with each other, from clashing over the 2024 election results and the arrest of an Argentine military police officer to hurling insults and trading barbs over each other’s physical appearance. In 2024, Venezuela broke ties with Argentina. Here is a brief review of their exchanges (and disputes).  Ideological differences The first point of contention between the two was ideological differences. Maduro, a self-avowed socialist, has enjoyed a close relationship with Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (CFK), a Peronist leader who served as the Argentine president between 2007 and 2015 and as a vice-president between 2019 and 2023. Milei, on the other hand, presents himself as an anarcho-capitalist and has turned the phrase “impoverishing commies” into a motto. CFK and allies like Maduro were his preferred target for that line. In 2024, however, Kirchner called on the Venezuelan government to show the still-unpublished records from that year’s presidential elections. “I call, not only on the Venezuelan people but also the opposition, for democracy and the very legacy of Hugo Chávez, for the voting records to be published,” Kirchner said less than a month after that vote.  The former president strongly criticized Saturday’s operation, calling it an illegal kidnapping that violated “the United Nations Charter, international law, and basic common sense.”  An arrest and an embassy siege The first serious political incident between Argentina and Venezuela took place in March 2024. Five members of the Venezuelan opposition sought refuge in the Argentine embassy in Caracas after General Prosecutor Tarek William Saab ordered their arrest. The opposition members spent almost 14 months inside the embassy in what they called a “state of siege.” They endured constant surveillance, as well as cuts to the power and water supply, in an effort to get them to leave the compound.  Following the severing of diplomatic ties between Venezuela and Argentina in 2024, Caracas initially refused to let the opposition members leave the country together with the Argentine diplomats. In May 2025, however, they were safely transferred to the United States.  A second incident took place in late 2024, when the Venezuelan government arrested Argentine military police officer Nahuel Agustín Gallo on charges of espionage. According to the man’s family, Gallo was trying to enter the country to visit his partner and son. The Argentine government has demanded his release, but to no avail. At the time, Venezuela’s Attorney General Tarek William Saab said that Gallo was facing criminal prosecution based on “evidence that compromises him in serious acts that threaten the security of the nation.”  He also accused Argentine Security Minister Patricia Bullrich of “terrorism” and called Milei “a clown of the empire.” The Milei administration has stated Gallo’s freedom is a “priority” and that they “will not stop” until they achieve it. A name-calling contest The two presidents traded barbs in July 2024 after Maduro claimed to have won a third consecutive six-year term in a heavily contested election that has drawn accusations of fraud.  Milei was one of the leaders to dispute the results and called Maduro a “dictator.” “Venezuelans chose to end Nicolás Maduro’s communist dictatorship,” Milei said. “Data shows a crushing victory for the opposition, and the world is expecting him to acknowledge defeat after years of socialism, misery, deterioration, and death.” Maduro did not hold back. “He must be bursting with that monster face of his, because he’s an ugly guy, too, and stupid,” the Venezuelan leader said.   “He takes these stupid pictures,” he added, imitating the way Milei usually poses. “How can you take a Nazi, fascist guy like that seriously?” “You couldn’t stand a round against me,” Maduro said. Venezuela broke ties with Argentina in 2024. The last straw Milei took advantage of Saturday’s military operation to also come down on one of his favorite political targets.  “Progressives say they love democracy, but they cry when a dictator falls. That says it all. They claim to defend the people, but they hate to see them celebrate their freedom (or what they don’t like),” Milei said in a post on X. For all of its support for Washington, however, the Argentine government seems to have missed the mark on what Donald Trump’s plans for Venezuela are.  On Sunday, Argentine Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno welcomed Maduro’s capture. He also said he hoped the development would allow “authorities legitimately elected” by the Venezuelan people in 2024, including opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia, to finally “exercise their constitutional mandate.”  The statement also highlighted the role of opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate María Corina Machado.  Hours later, Trump said that, while Machado was a “very nice woman,” she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country” to lead Venezuela. Instead, he seemed keen to work with Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez.