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Argentina First? Why Trump Is Betting $20 Billion on Javier Milei.
Gil Guerra /

Argentina First? Why Trump Is Betting $20 Billion on Javier Milei.

History indicates an economic bailout plan for the South American country is unlikely to succeed.
Economics
Argentina’s President Javier Milei gives a speech during a meeting with young people from the Industrial Entrepreneurs Forum of Paraguay (FEIP) organized by the Paraguayan Industrial Union (UIP) at the headquarters of the National Secretary of Sports in Asuncion on September 16, 2025. (Photo by Daniel DUARTE / AFP) (Photo by DANIEL DUARTE/AFP via Getty Images)
Argentinian President Javier Milei gives a speech at a meeting with young people from the Industrial Entrepreneurs Forum of Paraguay in Asuncion, Paraguay, on September 16, 2025. (Photo by DANIEL DUARTE/AFP via Getty Images)

One of the first actions President Donald Trump took upon resuming office in January was to sign an executive order that characterized U.S. foreign aid programs as “not aligned with American interests” and marked the beginning of a dramatic reduction in U.S. foreign assistance. Just nine months later however, the Trump administration has committed $20 billion in emergency financial assistance to Argentina in a move that outraged farmers reeling from a collapse in soybean sales to China that Argentina has exacerbated.

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Gil Guerra

Gil Guerra is a contributing writer at The Dispatch and a fellow at Hudson Institute. A specialist in politics, security, and technology in Latin America and the Caribbean, he is a 2026-27 Novak Fellow with the Fund for American Studies.

 

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