Late this afternoon, Argentine President Javier Milei will fly off to Miami, with his Finance Minister Luis Caputo in tow, in hopes of meeting President Donald Trump April 3 to ask him to convince the IMF to grant Argentina a large loan. A meeting with Trump is not confirmed, so the most likely option is that the two will meet informally when both attend the American Patriots Gala tomorrow in Mar-a-Lago at which Milei will receive a reward for “defending freedom.” Foreign Minister Gerardo Werthein just met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington to try to secure Milei’s meeting with Trump, but got nowhere.
Milei is desperate. The country’s finances are in shambles, with major capital flight, speculation and collapse of foreign reserves. Fears of devaluation are rampant. Last week, the IMF itself countered Caputo’s claim that the Fund would grant a $20 billion loan in a lump sum, so now the Finance Minister is asking for a large first tranche in the amount of $10-12 billion, but the Fund is making no commitments. Anything less than that amount, Caputo warns, “won’t be enough” to calm the markets. An agreement with the Fund will reportedly be announced by April 21.
