WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States is supporting Argentina as "a beacon" in the Western Hemisphere and wants to avoid another failed state, such as Venezuela, in the region, Treasury Secretary Scott
Bessent said on Thursday.
The United States did not maintain strategic interests in the Western Hemisphere in recent decades and now has a chance to support Argentina, Bessent said in an interview with CNBC.
He praised Argentine President Javier Milei as having done a "fantastic job" and said he was sure the right-wing leader would do well in upcoming elections.
"Now Argentina is a beacon down there. And there's a chance now for many other countries to come along - Bolivia, Ecuador, I think Colombia - after the elections. So what you don't want are these failed economic models," Bessent said.
Argentina votes on October 26 in legislative midterm elections, in which Milei's right-wing party aims to gain seats to strengthen its minority position.
"What the U.S. is doing, just to be clear: We are giving them a swap line. We are not putting money into Argentina, OK?" Bessent said.
U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with Milei in two weeks, Argentina said on Tuesday, as Milei seeks to secure a credit swap line from the U.S. that has rankled some Republicans as the South American nation offloaded billions of dollars in soy to China.
Bessent said in an X post on Thursday that he was looking forward to meeting Argentinian Economy Minister Luis Caputo's team in Washington to advance discussions on options for financial support.
"The @USTreasury is fully prepared to do what is necessary, and we will continue to watch developments closely," Bessent said in his post.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Katharine Jackson and Tomasz Janowski)
