Lawmaker accuses Milei of interfering in US midterm elections

President Javier Milei has become embroiled in a political controversy in the United States after a Democratic congressman described his endorsement of a Republican lawmaker for election as an “inappropriate intrusion.”

New York Democrat Gregory Meeks, the leading Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, issued his criticism in a statement published on social media platform X on Tuesday.  

He argued that US elections should be decided by US citizens and called on the Argentine leader to respect democratic principles.

“President Milei’s endorsement is an inappropriate intrusion into our democracy,” the congressman said. “American elections are decided by American voters, not foreign heads of state.”

He continued: “The US and Argentina share a longstanding relationship built on mutual respect and shared democratic values. President Milei should respect those principles, and Congress must continue to make clear that any foreign electoral interference is unacceptable.”

His reaction came after Florida Republican María Elvira Salazar released a video in which Milei publicly endorsed her candidacy for re-election, as she seeks to retain her seat representing Florida’s 27th congressional district. 

In the recording, Milei addressed Miami residents and described Salazar as one of the continent’s strongest voices. He also praised her defence of freedom, democracy, free markets and people’s right to improve their lives through their own efforts.

“We need leaders in Washington who understand Latin America, stand up to the socialist left and fearlessly denounce the horrors and deaths that socialism has left in its wake. That leader is María Elvira Salazar,” Milei said, ending the video with his customary slogan: “Long live freedom, damn it!”

Salazar also hit back at the Democratic congressman’s criticism. In a statement sent to US newspaper The New York Post, she said Meeks’s objections were a source of pride and linked them to the ideological differences between the two political camps.

The criticism of Milei followed objections raised days earlier by Democratic politicians over Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella’s endorsement of Salazar’s candidacy.

Salazar, who is of Cuban origin, represents Florida’s 27th congressional district and maintains close political ties with Trump. Her work in Congress is particularly associated with hardline positions towards the governments of Cuba and Venezuela.

–TIMES/PERFIL/NA