Spain withdraws ambassador to Argentina over comments made by President Milei

Spain’s embassy in the Palermo neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina (Gustavo Garello/AP)

A diplomatic crisis between historic allies Spain and Argentina has expanded as Spain pulled its ambassador from Buenos Aires and Argentine President Javier Milei lambasted the move as “nonsense typical of an arrogant socialist”.

Spain said it was officially pulling its ambassador from Argentina in response to comments made by President Milei at a far-right rally on Sunday in Madrid, where he accused the Spanish prime minister’s wife of corruption and described socialism as “cursed and carcinogenic”.

Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares told reporters on Tuesday that the Spanish ambassador to Argentina “will definitely stay in Madrid”.

Argentina’s President Javier Milei (Manu Fernandez/AP)

“Argentina will continue without an ambassador,” he said.

Mr Milei responded angrily, telling the local La Nacion news channel that the Spanish decision was “nonsense typical of an arrogant socialist”.

“Socialists are capable of doing anything,” he added.

The decision further escalated a diplomatic spat between the socialist Spanish government and the right-wing Argentine government following weeks of mounting tensions as Mr Milei traded barbs with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

Spain’s government had summoned its ambassador for consultations and demanded an apology from Mr Milei after the libertarian leader’s fiery speech on Sunday at a conference hosted by the hard-right Vox party.

Defying the norms of presidential behaviour, Mr Milei snubbed all Spanish government officials – as well as Spain’s King Felipe – on his visit to Madrid over the weekend and instead met only business executives and far-right opposition figures.

Mr Albares accused Mr Milei of responding to the government’s “hospitality” with “a frontal attack on our democracy, on our institutions and on Spain”.

On Monday Mr Milei only doubled down on his attacks, refusing to apologise for his criticism of Mr Sanchez, who took a brief break from the public eye last month after a judge opened a case alleging corruption and influence-peddling against his wife, Begona Gomez, based on complaints brought by a right-wing group that Mr Sanchez denounced as a “smear campaign”.