US Working to Double Aid to Argentina  10/16 06:15

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Trump administration is looking to provide an 
additional $20 billion in financing for Argentina through a mix of financing 
from sovereign funds and the private sector.

   That would come on top of the $20 billion credit swap line that the U.S. 
Treasury pledged to Argentine President Javier Milei and his government this 
month to bolster the South American nation's collapsing currency.

   "We are working on a $20 billion facility that would complement our swap 
line, with private banks and sovereign funds that, I believe, would be more 
focused on the debt market," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters 
Wednesday. He called it "a private-sector solution" and said "many banks are 
interested in it and many sovereign funds have expressed interest."

   At a White House meeting Tuesday with Milei, Republican President Donald 
Trump said his administration wanted to help "our neighbors" with the aid 
package, but he also suggested that the money could be pulled if Milei's party 
did not prevail in the Oct. 26 midterm elections.

   "If he loses, we are not going to be generous with Argentina," Trump said.

   The Argentine peso weakened slightly Wednesday after Trump's comments. The 
peso depreciated about 0.7%, with the dollar -- the currency Argentines rely on 
to save -- trading at 1,395 pesos, compared with 1,385 pesos the previous day.

   On Wall Street, shares of major Argentine companies rose slightly after 
dropping as much as 8.1% Tuesday upon Trump's comments.

   In Argentina, the opposition's criticism was swift.

   Former President Cristina Fernndez, who is under house arrest after a 
corruption conviction, wrote on social media: "Trump to Milei in the United 
States: 'Our agreements depend on who wins election.' Argentines ... you 
already know what to do!"

   Martn Lousteau, president of the centrist Radical Civic Union, said "Trump 
doesn't want to help a country -- he only wants to save Milei," and that 
"nothing good can come of this."

   Maximiliano Ferraro, head of the opposition Civic Coalition, called Trump's 
comments "a blatant act of extortion against the Argentine Nation."