Spain has removed its ambassador to Buenos Aires, saying the action is permanent. The decision Tuesday followed a reported derogatory remark made by Argentine President Javier Milei about Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez’s wife.
The right-wing libertarian Milei reportedly made comments about Sanchez’s wife, Begona Gomez, at a rally in Madrid organized by Vox, a far-right political party.
Gomez had faced a court investigation after accusations of influence peddling and business corruption were made by the activist group Manos Limpias for allegedly using her influence to obtain sponsors to pay for a university course.
"We have no interest in nor desire for any escalation, but it's the government's obligation to defend the dignity and sovereignty of Spanish institutions, especially when the aggression occurs in the capital of Spain,” Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said to reporters on the decision to remove the ambassador.
In addition to criticizing Gomez, Milei also criticized the Spanish government’s socialist system at the rally, claiming that it could create “levels of abuse.”
"What's happening is literally a folly typical of an arrogant socialist, who personally took a comment that didn't contain any names as an allusion and nonsensically decided to go for a diplomatic escalation, so it's Pedro Sanchez's problem," Milei said after the rally in an interview.
The recent diplomatic tension could have a larger impact on the business world, particularly for Spanish companies that invest $15 billion a year in Argentina. Only surpassed by U.S. business investment, Spanish companies are Argentina’s second largest investors.
Some information in this report was provided by Reuters and AFP.