The Department of Homeland Security blindsided Argentina last week by unexpectedly pausing a visa-waiver agreement as officials from Buenos Aires were already en route to Washington to sign the deal, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
The apparent diplomatic snub was the result of a lack of communication and organization by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, two sources with knowledge of the situation tell Axios.
A DHS official disputed the notion that a visa-waiver agreement was to be discussed with Argentina.
In July, Noem signed a statement of intent with Argentinian officials for the visa-waiver agreement. But Noem didn't first tell Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Marco Rubio of the major international decision, Axios first reported.
Rubio and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles then penned a memo reminding all officials that they needed prior authorization to execute such agreements.
Rubio's State Department has had concerns about a corruption scandal that's nagging at Milei's administration, and wanted to have more discussions with Argentina about that before striking a visa agreement, the source said.
No one from the U.S. government appears to have communicated those concerns to Argentina before a delegation from that nation left Buenos Aires for what it thought would be a Monday ceremony to sign the final visa-waiver agreement.
Posted by John3262005
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https://i.redd.it/27u7wxdlo0nf1.gif
Clown show administration. Wow at DHS & Noem being so disorganized that they don’t know their weekly schedule.
And while the current corruption scandal for Argentina is a local one, I find it funny that Rubio would care about corruption at all when the Argentina crypto scandal involves an American who setup Melania’s memecoin.