The Argentine Minister of Defense, Luis Petri, has officially submitted his resignation letter to President Javier Milei on Monday morning, following his recent election victory to become a national deputy of Mendoza province.
The transition in the president's cabinet comes in the wake of a historic purchase of 24 supersonic F-16 fighter jets from Denmark for an approximate cost of $300 million, with the United States providing input and ultimately approving the sale to its South American partner.
The deal was described by President Milei as symbolizing an incremental step in achieving Argentina's past greatness and modernizing the nation's armed forces, which Milei says were left largely "mistreated" by previous administrations.
In a statement released Saturday, the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires also described the delivery as a "major step to... deepen defense cooperation with the United States" and a friendly conservative administration in Washington.
