19 hours Ago By Buenos Aires Herald
The United States President-elect Donald Trump named Mauricio Claver-Carone as his State Department’s Special Envoy for Latin America on Sunday evening. The former president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has been critical of several Argentine administrations, including President Javier Milei. “It is time to restore order in our own hemisphere.
Mauricio knows the region, and how to put America’s interests FIRST. He also knows the dire threats we face from illegal mass migration and fentanyl,” Trump said on Truth Social. “As the State Department’s Special Envoy, Mauricio will work tirelessly to protect the American People.
” Claver-Carone previously served as senior director for Latin America at the White House during Trump’s first term and as U.S. Executive Director at the International Monetary Fund.
He went on to become head of the IDB from 2020-2022 — the first to be removed from the role after allegedly having an affair with a subordinate. As an advisor to Trump during the 2024 campaign, Claver-Carone made no exceptions for Milei and Economy Minister Luis Caputo when it came to criticizing Argentine politicians. “If only that liberal orthodoxy to which Milei aspired could return.
Milei aspired to a policy of dollarization and is governing with a policy of strengthening the Argentine peso,” he said in a July interview with El Observador . “Caputo is more of the same. They’re squandering all their reserves, doing the same thing the Peronists did, and the same thing that failed the first time when he was head of the Central Bank and Macri’s minister,” Claver-Carone continued.
The newly-appointed special envoy also showed skepticism at the time for the administration’s bid for a new IMF loan and a fruitful Milei-Trump relationship . “A year ago, I said the worst-case scenario for Argentina was having policies to get out of the economic crisis based on asking for more money from the IMF. And indeed, here we are.
The only solution seems to be to ask for more money from the Fund. It’s a waste of time,” he said. “The policy of buying time, thinking that Trump is going to get more money from the Fund, is an illusion, illogical, and will lead to failure.
” Since that July 31 interview, Milei dismissed former Foreign Minister Diana Mondino over a vote in favor of Cuba in favor of Gerardo Werthein with the explicit remit of fostering closer bilateral relations with the U.S. Following his victory in the U.
S. election, Trump has reportedly called Milei “his favorite president” and has invited him to the inauguration after the two met at Mar-A-Lago . You may also be interested in: At CPAC Argentina, a preview of Donald Trump’s second term.
