Argentina’s former president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and a former senior official were barred from entering the United States on Friday after being involved in substantial wrongdoing in a long-running court case in Argentina.
Fernandez de Kirchner, a leftist former two-term president who controlled Argentina from 2007 to 2015, wields considerable political power at home and is a vocal critic of libertarian President Javier Milei, an admirer of US President Donald Trump.
In a statement, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed that Fernandez de Kirchner and former Planning Minister Julio Miguel De Vido abused their positions by orchestrating and financially benefiting from multiple bribery schemes involving public works contracts, resulting in millions of dollars stolen from the Argentine government.
However, the former president has denied any wrongdoing and said that the allegations against her were politically motivated.
Rubio accused the former president and De Vido of damaging public and investor confidence in Argentina’s future.
The prohibition on US entrance also includes direct family members.
Fernandez de Kirchner, who served as vice president for four years until 2023, is the current leader of the main Peronist party.
Late this year, a judge upheld her conviction for awarding public contracts to a friend, resulting in a six-year prison sentence and a lifetime ban from holding office.
Fernandez de Kirchner is challenging the court’s ruling and plans to take it to the Supreme Court.
In a Facebook post on Friday, she criticised Milei and Trump, stating, “You left your prints all over this,” referring to Milei.
