OAN Staff Abril Elfi and Brooke Mallory
1:51 PM – Tuesday, July 2, 2025
United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth hosted Argentinian Defense Minister Luis Petri at the Pentagon on Wednesday.
According to Department of Defense (DoD), Hegseth, “who hosted an enhanced honor cordon and meeting” while welcoming Petri, eagerly announced that Argentina and the United States will continue to build on their more than 200-year relationship.
The U.S. defense secretary praised Argentina’s efforts to strengthen its defense alliance with the United States, highlighting Argentina’s request to purchase a U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcon and 8×8 Stryker fighting vehicles.
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During the meeting, Hegseth also emphasized that China not only poses a threat to the U.S., but to Argentina as well.
China could be a strategic or economic threat to Argentina in several key areas, depending on the lens through which the relationship is viewed. While China is a major investor and trade partner for Argentina, there are concerns surrounding how this dynamic could undermine Argentina’s sovereignty, economic stability, or geopolitical alignment.
China has lent Argentina billions through loans, infrastructure projects, via the Belt and Road Initiative, and currency swaps with the People’s Bank of China. Many warn that this could lead to “debt-trap diplomacy,” where Argentina could face pressure to align its policies with Chinese interests to maintain access to credit or avoid default, according to Reuters.
“Regional peace demands the utmost will and tenacity, and I think we can face these shared security challenges together, and I know we will,” Hegseth stated.
Additionally, while referring to the U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear sites in June, Petri expressed that Trump’s military move had increased world peace.
“We are very much committed to the fight that the United States has taken on against international terrorism,” he said.
Petri continued, maintaining that the bond between Argentina and the United States will become even stronger.
“Our relationship is at its best point, and our partnership will continue to grow in all areas of government, but fundamentally in defense,” Petri said.
The two leaders also exchanged historical accounts of military cooperation between their nations.
Hegseth noted that in 1811, during Argentina’s war of independence from Spanish colonial rule, representatives of the revolutionary government in the United States purchased 1,000 muskets and bayonets to support their cause. He also highlighted Argentina’s contribution to coalition forces during the Gulf War, when it deployed two warships in support.
Petri then chimed in on the history discussion to highlight how during the 1879 Conquest of the Desert, a campaign that aimed to expand Argentinian control over Patagonia, the government acquired 10,000 rifles from the United States, a transfer that played a pivotal role in strengthening its military campaign.
X video – English translation: Defense Minister Luis Petri signed an agreement with Trump’s Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for the acquisition of 8×8 Stryker armored vehicles for the Argentine Army: “Argentina is investing in defense again and modernizing its Armed Forces.”
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