Spain cut ties with Argentina and withdrew its ambassador to Buenos Aires, María Jesús Alonso Jiménez, yesterday after Argentinian President Javier Milei made “derogatory” remarks about Spain during the Spanish VOX Party conference last week, attacking not only the Spanish Prime Minister’s policies but also the PM’s wife.
Milei referred to the Spanish government’s “socialism”– calling the Spanish government and its head Pedro Sanchez “sleaze” and his wife, Begoña Gómez, “corrupt.”
“Global elites underestimate the negative consequences of implementing socialism. Even if you have a crooked wife, for example, and it gets nasty, you take five days to think about it,” Milei said.
Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, using stronger diplomatic language than previously, told media on Tuesday that Spain’s ambassador to Argentina “will permanently stay in Madrid.”
“We have no interest in, nor desire for any escalation, but it’s the government’s obligation to defend the dignity and sovereignty of Spanish institutions, especially when the aggression occurs in the capital of Spain,” he added.
Albares also stated that Spain is demanding a formal public apology.
Argentina’s Presidential Spokesman Manuel Adorni fired back that Milei does not have to apologize, but said, “we would be very pleased if the Spanish government would indeed apologize to the President for all the mistreatment, abuse, and insults he has received in the last 15 days.”
The Spanish PM spent five days last month considering his political future after a judge initiated a preliminary investigation into his wife’s alleged influence peddling and wrongdoing.
He denounced the claims against her as part of a campaign of political harassment by right-wing groups.
Milei, a far-right libertarian, made the statements after Argentina and Spain had sparred in recent weeks on a variety of problems, including drug usage and poverty.
On Tuesday, Milei described Spain’s withdrawal of its ambassador from Buenos Aires as “absurd.”
When asked if Argentina would remove its ambassador from Spain, Milei responded, “No, not at all.”
Meanwhile, Spain’s FM announced that the Spanish embassy’s chargé d’affaires would oversee the country’s mission in Argentina.