Deputy José Luis Espert, an important candidate of President Javier Milei’s party for legislative elections on October 26 in Argentinaannounced this Sunday that he renounces his candidacy due to a scandal for links with a businessman accused of fraud and drug trafficking in the United States.
“For Argentina, I take a step to the side. I made my resignation to the candidacy for national deputy for the province of Buenos Aires and President Javier Milei decided to accept it,” he reported through X Espert, who headed the list of the formation of ultra -right La Libertad La Libertad advances in the most populous district in the country and that he accused an “operation” on his counter based on “a great lie.”
For Argentina, I take a step to the side
I made my resignation to the candidacy for national deputy for the province of Buenos Aires and President Javier Milei decided to accept it.
In these elections, Argentina has once again the opportunity to turn the …
– José Luis Espert (@jlespert) October 5, 2025
Milei responded with a message also in X. From there he defended the deputy, although he stressed that “Argentina is always above people” and added: “Guaranteeing change is more important than any of us.”
Another unforeseen scandal
The scandal was unleashed a week ago after the sister bond with Federico “Fred” Machado, an Argentine businessman accused in the United States of integrating a drug trafficking network.
“Fred” has been in house arrest since April 2021, waiting for its extradition process to the United States to be resolved, currently in the hands of the Supreme Court of Argentina.
The Peronist candidate Juan Grabois had filed a complaint with justice centered on a payment of 200,000 dollars to a 2020 last Monday from a company linked to Machado, a transaction that consists of a judicial case in Texas against an ex -ex -Machado ex -Socy -Debra Mercer -Erwin, sentenced in 2023 for money laundering, fraud and drug trafficking.
Espert admitted that he charged that money, but lawfully and as part of his private activity -not political -and assured that only in April 2021 he learned, through the media, that the justice of the United States had issued an international arrest warrant against Machado for activities linked to drug trafficking and scams related to the sale of airplanes.
“Time will show that all this was a great lie to dirty this electoral process and thus avoid discussing what Argentines have to do to change the course of our country,” he said Sunday in his publication, where he anticipated that “the explanations that are missing will be given in due time and where it corresponds.”
Milei, on the other hand, said that it will not allow “a malicious operation” to put at risk “the process of deep change” that it promotes in Argentina, and denounced an attempt to “dirty” its formation, which on October 26 needs to win benches in the Parliament to carry out structural reforms.
