Argentina’s Milei fires foreign minister after vote to lift embargo against Cuba

Argentina’s President Javier Milei on Wednesday replaced Foreign Affairs Minister Diana Mondino after she voted in favor of lifting the U.S. embargo against Cuba at the United Nations.

Argentina’s President Javier Milei on Wednesday replaced Foreign Affairs Minister Diana Mondino after she voted in favor of lifting the US embargo against Cuba at the United Nations. Milei, a libertarian who took office in late 2023, is unabashedly pro-United States and has taken a cooler stance toward leftist trade partners in the region and overseas, including by taking steps to distance Argentina from Cuba and Venezuela. Earlier on Wednesday, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly called on the US to end its decades-long sanctions regime on Cuba, in a non-binding resolution opposed only by the US and Israel. Milei, who has said that he wants Argentina to be in line with the US and Israel, shared a post on social media from a lower house lawmaker praising his government for “not supporting nor being an accomplice of dictators.” Gerardo Werthein, who has been serving as Argentina’s ambassador to the US, will replace Mondino as the country’s foreign minister, presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni said on X. Mondino, one of Milei’s first confirmed cabinet members, has played a key role in keeping diplomatic relations smooth with international partners despite incendiary comments from the president about countries like Brazil and China.