President of Chile, José Antonio Kast Rist ( Photo credit: x/joseantoniokast )
SANTIAGO: Chile’s far-right President Jose Antonio Kast is scheduled to meet with his Argentine counterpart in Buenos Aires on Monday, marking his first trip abroad since taking office in March.The visit continues the tradition of Chilean presidents making Argentina their first official state trip.Politically aligned, Kast and Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei are close allies of US President Donald Trump and are part of the growing rightward push in the region.The two men previously met after Kast’s election victory in December, posing together with a chainsaw — a symbol of the budget cuts implemented by Milei.”Now more than ever, it is important to develop joint projects. We have great ideas on mining, energy, border crossings and the fight against organized crime,” Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Perez Mackenna said on Sunday.The visit comes days after a failed attempt to arrest Chilean guerilla Galvarino Apablaza in Argentina.Apablaza, who had political refugee status in Argentina from 2010 until it was revoked by the courts in February, is accused of participating in the 1991 assassination of Chilean right-wing senator Jaime Guzman.Chile and Argentina share a border of about 3,300 miles (5,300 kilometers), and Buenos Aires is Santiago’s second-largest trading partner in Latin America, with trade estimated at nearly eight billion dollars by 2025.
