Lamelas: US support beyond 2027 depends on Argentina’s move ‘to the right’

US ambassador to Argentina Peter Lamelas said on Tuesday that Donald Trump’s administration would continue providing financial support for investment projects under President Javier Milei’s government beyond 2027 if the country keeps moving “to the right.”

Speaking at a meeting organised by the Argentina-Texas Chamber of Commerce in Neuquén, on the sidelines of the Argentina Oil & Gas Patagonia 2026 forum, Lamelas said the US was evaluating further projects in Argentina’s energy, mining and infrastructure sectors.

“We are evaluating other projects that could mobilise up to US$20 billion, and this does not end there. We are ready to continue financing Argentina from the United States beyond 2027, if Argentina keeps moving forward and never backwards,” the diplomat said.

The figure is almost three times the US$7 billion package apparently agreed in September for infrastructure projects under the US-Argentina “Andes-Atlantic Corridor” initiative, which focuses, though not exclusively, on developing Vaca Muerta, the vast unconventional oil and gas formation in Argentina’s south.

“That money will be available until 2027. Then we will see what happens,” Lamelas said, referring to the presidential election scheduled for the second half of next year, in which Milei has already announced he will seek re-election for a second term.

“We set that 2027 figure because that is when the election takes place. We are supporting this government, Milei’s government and the Argentine people if they are heading in the right direction – to the right, not to the left,” he added.

The ambassador highlighted the involvement of US institutions, including the Export-Import Bank (EXIM), the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the US State Department.

The ambassador also said he was working with the DFC to finance five strategic projects worth close to US$10 billion, although he did not specify whether those initiatives were included in the US$20 billion announced. 

Nor did he provide a disbursement timetable or identify all the transactions that would make up the total.

The ambassador highlighted the potential of projects linked to hydrocarbon production and exports, particularly developments associated with Vaca Muerta.

“There will be much more, Horacio,” Lamelas told YPF president Horacio Marín, referring to the prospects for financing in the energy sector.

Since taking office, Milei has become one of Trump’s key allies in Latin America.

The US president repaid that support a year ago by signing a US$20-billion currency swap arrangement between Buenos Aires and the US Treasury Department.

The funds helped calm currency-market turbulence as the nation headed into a crucial midterm legislative election. Milei’s party won the election, securing significantly greater weight in Congress to push ahead with its reforms.

During his presentation, Lamelas again criticised the involvement of Chinese companies in sectors considered strategic, particularly energy and technology infrastructure. 

He argued that China’s national intelligence legislation requires companies to hand over sensitive information to the country’s authorities.

“The Chinese Communist government forces companies to hand over sensitive data to the Chinese government and the Communist Party, without judicial oversight or confidentiality,” said the ambassador.