Argentine President Javier Milei’s Upcoming Visit to Washington

Argentine President Javier Milei will visit Washington this week to seek US President Donald Trump’s assistance in securing International Monetary Fund (IMF) funds and negotiating trade tariff exemptions proposed by the Trump administration.

The visit comes at a time when Milei is facing backlash over his brief promotion of the memecoin LIBRA, which some investors and lawyers are claiming was a rug pull project. The Argentine leader hopes to meet with former President Trump to advance a new IMF agreement aimed at stabilizing his country’s struggling economy.

As reported by local news publication Buenos Aires Herald, discussions with the IMF began in mid-December of last year. The libertarian economist believes that the funding will facilitate the aggressive economic reforms he is planning.

However, his diplomatic endeavors are currently overshadowed by controversy surrounding LIBRA, a cryptocurrency he promoted on social media before promptly deleting his post.

LIBRA Causes Controversy After Market Collapse

Last Friday, Milei posted on X about LIBRA, a token he described as designed to “encourage economic growth by funding small businesses and startups.” Market data indicated that this post briefly spurred the token’s value to reach a two-month high of $0.00184. However, the post was deleted within hours, causing a sharp collapse that saw the value drop to an all-time low of $0.0005237, an over 85% decrease.

Financial data site Dexscreener reported that Libra holders incurred losses exceeding $4.5 billion, with notable investors like Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy labeling it as one of the largest “rug pulls” in cryptocurrency history.

Hayden Davis, the digital entrepreneur behind the memecoin and CEO of Kelsier Ventures, claimed to have advised Milei and worked with his team on “bigger tokenization projects in Argentina.” According to Bloomberg, Davis stated that Milei was actively promoting the token but later recanted his endorsement.

In contrast, an official statement from the Argentine President’s Office denied any link to Davis, asserting that Milei was never involved in the token’s creation or promotion. The government described the president’s post as a “routine announcement” that was removed to prevent speculation and limit potential financial exposure.

Legal Complaints and Political Fallout

By Sunday, lawyers in Argentina had filed fraud complaints against Milei in criminal court, alleging he facilitated an “illicit association to commit an indeterminate number of frauds.” Plaintiff Jonatan Baldiviezo argued that Milei’s endorsement was made with awareness of his involvement in what they perceive as fraudulent behavior.

This case is set to progress, with judicial authorities expected to assign a judge or refer it to a prosecutor for investigation.

Former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, Milei’s long-time political opponent, accused him of causing significant losses for those who trusted him while allowing others to profit through privileged information. She and other opposition leaders have suggested pursuing impeachment proceedings against Milei. However, such efforts are seen as unlikely to succeed due to the requirement of a two-thirds majority in Argentina’s Congress for presidential removal.

Political analysts have pointed out similarities between Milei’s presidency and Trump’s, attributing his confrontational style and deregulation strategies to this comparison. Like Trump, Milei has withdrawn Argentina from the World Health Organization and hinted at exiting the Paris climate accord.

He was elected in 2023 with over 55% of the votes, defeating Peronist Minister of Economy Sergio Massa. His policies have reportedly helped reduce Argentina’s inflation rate to 2.2% as of January 2025, and his approval rating has hovered around 47%.

Despite economic progress, the controversy has raised concerns about Milei’s unpredictable governance. Alejandro Catterberg, director of Buenos Aires-based consulting firm Poliarquia, cautioned that while Argentina is seeing some economic improvements, Milei’s impulsive decisions risk undermining public confidence in his administration. “Macroeconomic balance needs to accompany emotional balance,” Catterberg warned. “These types of actions create a lot of unnecessary uncertainty.