WAR OF WORDS: Argentina’s Milei Calls Leftist Colombian President Petro a ‘Terrorist Murderer’ – Former Marxist Guerilla Member Expels Argentine Diplomats
Javier Milei has shot up to political power in Argentina by saying what he thinks out loud, and not mincing words. And after elected President, he is not toning down.
He has now, in an interview with CNN, leveled harsh criticism at a number of Latin American socialist leaders such as Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, Colombia’s Gustavo Petro and Mexico’s Lopez Obrador.
It bears mentioning that Petro is a former member of the M-19 Marxist guerilla group, and has admitted publicly to have killed people as in this capacity.
Milei, on X:
“Obviously, the operating media overlooked the recurrent aggressions I have received from the individuals in question. Maybe they consider it acceptable for other leaders to attack me, and that defending myself is wrong.”
Now, the mudslinging has developed into a fully blown diplomatic crisis.
Associated Press reported:
“It heated up after Milei lashed out at Petro in an interview with CNN, excerpts of which aired Wednesday night, prompting his Colombian counterpart to order Argentine diplomats out of his country.
“Not much can be expected from someone who was a terrorist murderer,” Milei said in one excerpt, a reference to Petro’s past as a member of a guerrilla group. CNN’s full interview is scheduled to air Sunday.
Milei and Petro harbor opposite political and economic ideologies. Petro won the presidency with pledges to create social programs to aid Colombia’s long-neglected poor, while Milei — a self-described anarcho-capitalist — promised to slash government spending while eliminating ministries and costly programs as a means to rein in triple-digit inflation. He even toted a chainsaw on the campaign trail to illustrate just how aggressive were his intended cuts.”
The two combative leaders have vowed to fix their nations’ economic and social woes.
Of course, Petro wants to improve Colombia with the playbook that has historically produced nothing but poverty throughout Latin America.
“Colombia’s foreign ministry said in a statement Wednesday night that they were expelling Argentine diplomats because Milei’s recent attacks have ‘deteriorated the confidence of our nation, in addition to offending the dignity of the president’. Officials did not clarify who would be subject to the announced expulsions.
Milei previously called Petro ‘a murderous communist’ who is sinking his country, and referred to socialists as ‘human excrement’. Petro responded on his social media channels that ‘this is what Hitler said’.”
In the same CNN interview, Milei also responded to Mexico’s president, calling him an ‘ignorant’.
López Obrador, a Petro ally and Milei critic, jumped to Petro’s defense, writing on social media that ‘I still do not understand how the Argentines, being so intelligent, elected someone like Milei’.
Obrador as a good leftist, likes the Peronists that drove 60 per cent of Argentines below the poverty line.
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