<h6><strong>The Diplomat</strong></h6> <h4><strong>Argentine President Javier Milei took advantage of a private visit to Madrid to once again attack President of the Government Pedro Sánchez, calling him a "bandit."</strong></h4> "If they want to beat up the local bandit, I have no problem," Milei declared during his participation in the closing ceremony of the Madrid Economic Forum 2025 (MEF25), the largest ultra-liberal economic event in Spain, held at the Vistalegre Palace in Madrid and attended by 7,500 people, including Albert Rivera, Esperanza Aguirre, and Iván Espinosa de los Monteros. Milei is in Spain on a private visit, during which he has once again belittled representatives of the State or the Government. This is his third visit to our country as part of a tour (in these cases, official) of Italy, the Vatican, France, and Israel. "I want you to know that, against the shitty socialists, I will always be on your side," shouted the Argentine president, who urged those present (who chanted serious insults at Sánchez) to denounce "corruption" and concluded with his usual slogan: "Long live freedom, damn it!" Milei arrived in Madrid on Saturday from Italy and met that same day with Vox leader Santiago Abascal, a meeting that was not on the official agenda and that exposed the political complicity between the two. On Sunday morning, the Argentine president met with Venezuelan opposition leaders Edmundo González Urrutia and Antonio Ledezma. During the meeting, according to a statement from González's office, they discussed "the need to strengthen a Latin American alliance based on freedom, dignity, and respect for the popular will, and warned about the growing danger of political and armed violence as a tool of repression." They also remembered Colombian senator and presidential candidate Miguel Uribe, who was seriously injured in an attack. "On a day marked by violence in Colombia, we discussed the urgency of strengthening the region with democratic values, cooperation, and solidarity in the face of the onslaught of authoritarianism," González Urrutia wrote on the social media platform X. Milei will return to Madrid on June 13 to receive the Salamanca School Award from the Spanish liberal association El Club de los Viernes (Friday Club). The following day, she will meet with leading business leaders at the Argentine embassy. At the moment, no meeting with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez or members of the Socialist government is on her agenda. This is Milei's third trip to Spain. The first trip took place on May 17, 2024, and sparked a serious diplomatic crisis between Spain and Italy over Milei's participation in an event organized by Vox. Without specifically mentioning the Prime Minister or his wife, Begoña Gómez, but clearly referring to both, he lashed out against "socialism" and against "people entrenched in power (...) even when their wife is corrupt and they take five days to think about it." The Argentine president's remarks came days after statements by Transport Minister Óscar Puente, suggesting that Milei "was taking substances," sparking an initial diplomatic clash between Madrid and Buenos Aires. Following Milei's remarks, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares recalled his ambassador in Buenos Aires, María Jesús Alonso, for consultations and demanded an apology from the Argentine president. Milei returned to Spain on June 21 to receive the Juan de Mariana Freedom Award. During this second trip, he received the International Medal of the Community of Madrid from the regional president, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, before whom he lashed out at politicians who "have porous hands," whether "directly, from a brother, or from a partner." These words were interpreted in very different ways (since they could apply both to Sánchez, as Milei intended, and to Díaz Ayuso herself). The Argentine president's spokesperson stated a few days ago that he had not planned any meeting with members of the Spanish government. Apparently, Milei made a direct request to the Royal Household to be received by the King, but the Zarzuela Palace reminded the public that matters related to foreign policy fall under the jurisdiction of the Government and, therefore, such requests should be directed to Moncloa Palace. In this regard, Albares stated that, "without a doubt," Milei's trip was "a private visit" and that, "since Spain only has one foreign policy, everything related to that foreign policy is carried out in coordination with the institutions of the State, including the Royal Household."
