Argentina officially welcomes Peter Lamelas as new US ambassador

United States Ambassador to Argentina Peter Lamelas was formalized in his role on Monday after presenting his credentials before Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno, kickstarting his role as representative of President Donald Trump’s administration in the country. “Welcome, Ambassador Peter Lamelas! It is an honor to welcome you during a stage of maximum bilateral engagement, with the boost of presidents [Javier Milei] and [Donald Trump,” the Argentine foreign ministry wrote. El embajador Peter Lamelas presentó hoy copias de sus cartas credenciales al ministro de Relaciones Exteriores Pablo Quirno, iniciando así su misión como representante del presidente Trump en la Argentina. pic.twitter.com/OvVaaiNaMA— Embajada de EEUU en Argentina (@EmbajadaEEUUarg) November 3, 2025 The ministry and the U.S. embassy in Argentina both posted photos on social media showing Lamelas and Quirno posing with a copy of the ambassador’s credentials, which were approved by the U.S. senate in September. The final step left for Lamelas is to present his credentials before President Javier Milei. On Monday, Quirno also received copy of the credentials from Swiss ambassador Andrea Semadeni. Who is Peter Lamelas Lamelas is a Cuban-born physician and healthcare industry businessman, founder of MD Now Urgent Care, one of Floreida’s largest Urgent Care healthcare companies. During Trump’s first presidential term, Lamelas served on the Department of Justice’s Medal of Valor Review Board and the Florida Board of Medicine. He was also Town Commissioner in Manalapan, Florida. Trump announced his decision to appoint Lamelas in December, a little over a month before taking office. When describing Lamelas, Trump said that the new ambassador fled Cuba with his family when he was a child and highlighted that they immigrated “legally” to the U.S., “starting with nothing, and achieving the American Dream.” Lamelas has described himself as “Cuban by birth, American by the grace of God.” In July, Lamelas appeared before a United States Senate committee to defend his nomination as ambassador to Argentina. There, he said he would focus on lowering trade barriers between the two countries and promoting dialogue over Malvinas sovereignty. President Milei met Lamelas a year ago at Trump’s residence in Mar-a-Lago. A few days after the event, Lamelas shared pictures with Milei and described him as “a leader on a mission to free his country from decades of socialism and mismanagement.” Lamelas arrived in Buenos Aires on Friday, matching a period of rekindled friendship between the U.S. and Argentina, as a result of the ideological alignment and good personal relationship of their presidents. 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.  On Monday, Foreign Minister Quirno — appointed last week to replace Gerardo Werthein — spoke with Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau following the bailout. Landau said the goal of the call was “to reaffirm U.S. support for President [Milei]’s reforms that will restore economic stability and prosperity to the Argentine people” and strengthen the two countries’ “cooperation on economic growth and regional stability.” *Editorial disclaimer: Although the UK refers to the territory as the “Falklands Islands,” Argentina strongly contests this name. The Buenos Aires Herald uses “Malvinas” to refer to the islands.