ESPERT UNDER FIRE

Unión por la Patria lower house caucus chief Germán Martínez has demanded the immediate removal of libertarian deputy José Luis Espert from the chairmanship of the Congress Budget Committee following revelations linking him to Federico Andrés ‘Fred’ Machado, a businessman under arrest and awaiting extradition to the United States on charges of drug-trafficking, money-laundering and electronic fraud. The demand comes with the 2026 Budget submitted a fortnight ago up for debate. The main accusation against Espert thus far is a 2020 money order for US$200,000 from Machado. The libertarian argues that he is the target of a political operation. The economist admits to having got to know Machado in 2019 and to having accepted his assistance for a Viedma book launch, including air transfer, but denies being aware of his criminal activities, saying: “You can imagine that if I had known what kind of person he was, I would not have been thanking him left, right and centre.” In a Tuesday interview President Javier Milei dismissed Espert’s alleged narco links as “barbershop gossip,” also pointing to the suspicious timing of bringing up a case dating back several years on the brink of midterms.

MILEI MEETS MACRI

Ex-president Mauricio Macri and current President Javier Milei both confirmed last Tuesday that they held a “long meeting” at Olivos presidential residence last Sunday, also attended by Ca