Last week, the United States made headlines by announcing a rare and massive $20 billion bailout for Argentina, a move that’s sent tremors through global financial markets, U.S. farm states, and political circles in both countries. The rescue operation, spearheaded by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, comes at a pivotal moment for Argentina’s embattled President Javier Milei, whose right-wing, austerity-driven agenda faces a crucial midterm test next month. But as details emerge, the deal is raising sharp questions about who truly benefits—and at what cost to American interests.
On September 24, 2025, Bessent revealed that the U.S. was negotiating a $20 billion currency swap line with Argentina’s central bank, a sum amounting to roughly 16% of the country’s public external debt, according to Reuters and Popular Information. The funds, delivered via the U.S. Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund, are designed to prop up Argentina’s struggling peso, stabilize its government bonds, and provide a lifeline to Milei’s reform agenda as legislative elections loom on October 26.
“Argentina has the tools to defeat speculators, including those who seek to destabilize Argentina’s markets for political objectives,” Bessent declared on X, pledging that the U.S. Treasury “remains fully prepared to do what is necessary.” He also announced readiness to purchase Argentina’s U.S. dollar-denominated bonds and deliver standby credit, adding, “We are not going to let a disequilibrium in the market … cause a backup in his substantial economic reforms.”
Markets responded with enthusiasm: Argentina’s government bond prices, including the 2030 issue, surged more than three cents, and the peso rebounded after a bruising week in which the central bank spent over $1 billion defending the currency. President Milei, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, publicly thanked both Trump and Bessent for their “firm support and confidence in the Argentine people.” Argentina’s Economy Minister Luis Caputo echoed the gratitude, writing, “Let’s all work together to make our country great again!”
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), which met with Milei in New York the day after the announcement, also weighed in. IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said support from the U.S. “strengthens the program” between the IMF and Argentina, which faces a hefty $4.8 billion repayment to the Fund in 2026. Yet, Martin Muehleisen, former IMF strategy chief, cautioned, “Argentina still needs to deliver on difficult underlying reforms for which there is currently no indication because of a lack of bipartisan support.”
But as the dust settled, scrutiny intensified over the beneficiaries of the bailout—especially billionaire hedge fund manager Rob Citrone, co-founder of Discovery Capital Management and a longtime friend and former colleague of Bessent. As reported by Popular Information and Mother Jones, Citrone has bet heavily on Argentina since Milei’s rise to power in December 2023, purchasing high-yield Argentine bonds and investing in companies tied to the nation’s economic fortunes. His wager, risky given Argentina’s notorious 200% inflation rate in 2023 and history of defaults, paid off handsomely when U.S. support sent Argentine assets soaring.
Intriguingly, Citrone increased his holdings in Argentine bonds just days before Bessent’s bailout announcement in early September—a move that, according to Popular Information, has drawn criticism over potential conflicts of interest. The two men’s relationship stretches back to their days at Soros Fund Management, where Citrone once convinced Bessent and George Soros to make a lucrative currency bet. Citrone, in a May 2025 podcast, joked that he was “responsible for 75 percent of [Bessent’s] bonus at Soros.” Latin American publications have described Citrone as “a friend of the Secretary of the Treasury” and noted their “personal relationship as well as a past working relationship.”
Reports also indicate that Citrone actively lobbied Bessent earlier this year to secure IMF support for Argentina, and was present in Argentina alongside Bessent during key meetings with Milei. “It has helped tremendously that the US has come in to support Milei, and it will pay dividends for the US strategically,” Citrone told Bloomberg after the bailout was announced.
This intertwining of public policy and private profit has not gone unnoticed. Critics argue that while U.S. taxpayer dollars are being deployed to stabilize a foreign economy, the most immediate winner may be a well-connected Wall Street investor. The fact that Argentina is not a major U.S. trading partner adds to the controversy, as does the revelation—first reported by The Daily Beast—that Bessent inadvertently leaked a sensitive text during the United Nations General Assembly. The message, reportedly from Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, warned that Argentina had sold massive quantities of soybeans to China, undercutting U.S. farmers and circumventing a U.S. trade deal.
“We bailed out Argentina yesterday (Bessent) and in return, the Argentine’s removed their export tariffs on grains, reducing their price, and sold a bunch of soybeans to China, at a time when we would normally be selling to China. Soy prices dropping further because of it. This gives China more leverage on us,” Rollins wrote, according to the leaked message. Grain trader Ben Scholl piled on, stating, “China is up to 20 cargoes of Argentine soybeans while we are busy bailing out Argentina. They think you are stupid.”
The American Soybean Association (ASA) and farm-state lawmakers have sounded the alarm. “The frustration is overwhelming. US soybean prices are falling, harvest is underway, and farmers read headlines not about securing a trade agreement with China, but that the U.S. government is extending $20 billion in economic support to Argentina while that country drops its soybean export taxes to sell 20 shiploads of Argentine soybeans to China in just two days,” said ASA President Caleb Ragland. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa echoed the sentiment on X: “Farmers VERY upset abt Argentina selling soybeans to China right after USA bail out … farmers need markets 2 boost farm economy.”
Political intrigue further complicates the picture. The organizers of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), an influential right-wing group closely tied to Trump, have been deeply involved in lobbying for the Argentine government. Their new firm, Tactic Global, began representing Argentina in 2025, coordinating meetings and offering strategic counsel to Milei’s administration. CPAC even promoted the bailout on its social media channels. According to filings, Argentina pays Tactic $10,000 per month for its services, and key figures—such as Matt Schlapp and Mercedes Schlapp—have traveled with Citrone to meet Milei in Argentina.
For Argentina, the U.S. intervention is a lifeline ahead of a potentially make-or-break election. For Bessent and Citrone, it’s a story of long-standing personal ties and financial bets that may have paid off spectacularly. For U.S. farmers and critics of foreign bailouts, it’s a bitter pill, raising questions about priorities, transparency, and the true cost of “America First.”
As the legislative contest in Argentina draws near, the impact of the U.S. bailout—and the controversies swirling around it—will be felt on both sides of the equator, shaping the economic and political fortunes of two nations bound together by money, markets, and a fair share of intrigue.