New US ambassador arrives in Argentina

The newly-appointed United States ambassador to Argentina, Peter Lamelas, arrived in Buenos Aires on Friday, the U.S. embassy has announced. “In the coming days, he will present his credentials to begin his work at a key moment for relations between the United States and Argentina,” an embassy statement read. A Cuban-born physician and healthcare industry businessman, Lamelas was nominated by U.S. President Donald Trump to replace Marc Stanley, who served as the ambassador during President Joe Biden’s administration. The ambassador arrives at a time when the relationship between Argentina and the U.S. is being reshaped. In September, the Trump administration announced an unprecedented financial support line for President Javier Milei’s government that has widely been described as a bailout. Between a US$20 billion currency swap and a planned private fund for a further US$20 billion, the funds could come to US$40 billion or more. The U.S. Treasury has also propped up the peso by intervening in Argentina’s currency markets.  Both presidents are ideologically aligned, and share a personal relationship. On top of the government’s assistance and a private fund totaling US$40 billion, U.S. companies are also likely to invest.  U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said that Milei is “committed to getting China out of Argentina,” a motive Bessent and Trump have often given when asked why they are financing the country during a government shutdown at home. Last month, the United States Senate confirmed Lamelas for the position, a little over two months after he made his presentation before the foreign affairs commission. There, Lamelas said that he would “stand firm against the malign influence of adversarial powers in the region,” naming countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, China, and Iran. He added that the relationship between the U.S. and Argentina could be “a shining example to the rest of Latin America.”  He also said that Argentina’s provincial governments “could negotiate with external forces, like the Chinese or others, to come in and do projects in that particular province, and that may also lend towards corruption on the part of the Chinese.”  The Chinese embassy in Buenos Aires was quick to reject his comments, saying in a statement — without naming Lamelas — that they were “plagued with ideological prejudice and Cold War mentality, based on a zero-sum game that does little more than provoke a sensation of concern about the possible return of the Monroe Doctrine.”