Tag: argentina

Billionaire Tech Investor Peter Thiel Moves Family to Argentina, Citing Concerns Over America’s “Long-Term Direction”

Billionaire investor and tech founder Peter Thiel has quietly relocated his family to Argentina, a move that is fueling speculation about the future plans of one of Silicon Valley’s most influential and politically connected figures.

The move abroad is allegedly partly driven by concerns about the “long-term direction” of the United States, as well as Thiel’s ideological alignment with Milei’s anarcho-capitalist government.

The PayPal co-founder has purchased a sprawling mansion in Buenos Aires and enrolled his children in local schools, according to recent report from the New York Times. The development has attracted significant attention on both sides of the Atlantic.

While some social media users interpreted the move as an outright departure from the United States, the reality appears more nuanced. Thiel remains an American citizen, and the overwhelming majority of his wealth and business interests remain firmly anchored in the United States.

Even so, the decision has prompted fresh questions about why one of America’s most prominent technology investors is spending increasing amounts of time in Argentina.

The answer may lie in a combination of politics, economics, and ideology.

According to reports, Thiel has developed a close relationship with Argentine President Javier Milei, whose radical free-market reforms have earned admiration from libertarians and economic conservatives around the world.

Milei’s administration has aggressively challenged Argentina’s political establishment, slashed government spending, and pursued a sweeping deregulation agenda aimed at reviving the country’s struggling economy.

Those priorities align closely with views Thiel has expressed for years.

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Argentine Horse Falls Victim to Cattle Mutilation Phenomenon?

An Argentine farmer is understandably unnerved after one of his horses seemingly fell victim to the cattle mutilation phenomenon. According to a local media report (warning: graphic image), the strange case occurred earlier this month near the community of Colonia Chica when the man discovered the downed animal and immediately suspected something was amiss. What initially left him scratching his head were the horse’s wounds, which consisted of cuts said to be “surgical and precise.”

Additionally, despite various parts of the animal’s body being sliced and diced, there was nary a drop of blood around the creature that had been completely exsanguinated. Also baffling to the farmer was that it appeared the horse was stunned by the deadly attack, with no signs that it put up a fight. “The animal did not defend itself or have any reaction,” he observed, “they always kick or leave a trace of the struggle.”

As if all of that were not weird enough, the farmer noted that there was no indication of a human presence, such as footprints or tire tracks, at the scene of the slaying. Yet another hallmark of the cattle mutilation phenomenon, the man marveled that “it’s very strange” that typically voracious scavenger animals have refused to feast on the creature’s carcass. Finally, as in cases in the United States and elsewhere, experts and authorities are bewildered by what happened to the farmer’s horse, and the perpetrator is unlikely to be brought to justice.

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Argentine Lawmaker Proposes UFO Program

In a testament to the global nature of the intrigue surrounding UFOs at the moment, an Argentine lawmaker has introduced a bill for his province to establish a UFO program to study anomalous aerial events and phenomena. According to a local media report, Victor Sanzberro put forward the proposal in the Entre Ríos Senate last week. Dubbed the Provincial Program for Registration of Anomalous Phenomena (PRFA), the project would create a proverbial UFO hotline that anyone in the province could use to report anomalous aerial or aquatic activity, which would then be examined by an enlisted panel of experts and made available to the public.

A social media post from Sanzberro announcing the bill explained that the purpose of the program is for “fishermen, islanders, pilots, and citizens to have an official and respectful space where to report what they see in our skies and rivers.” Clearly a savvy politician, the lawmaker mused that “this initiative seeks to transform decades of civil research into a real science tourism and development opportunity for the region.” To that end, the UFO program would be based in the city of Victoria, which just so happens to be the community Sanzberro represents. “We have to work together to improve this project,” he declared, “and make Entre Rios the first province in the country with a public, serious, and transparent record” on anomalous phenomenon.

Sanzberro’s proposed UFO program is the latest in a trend that just might rival Sasquatch calling contests when it comes to paranormal concepts currently spreading through the zeitgeist. Last week, a British lawmaker found himself the subject of national headlines after he suggested creating a committee to look at anomalous aerial phenomena around a proposed airport. Meanwhile, here in America, proposals for the formation of a UFO group have recently been put forward in multiple state legislatures, including Vermont and New Hampshire, with more likely to follow as the concept and the phenomenon itself continue to captivate lawmakers and the public.

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Hantavirus Patient Zero Was Dutch Birdwatcher Who Toured Massive Rat-Infested Landfill in Argentina’s ‘City at the End of the World’ Just Days Before Deadly Cruise Ship Outbreak

More information has come to light about the origins of the deadly hantavirus cluster aboard the MV Hondius cruise ship, as health officials have now identified “Patient Zero,” the first confirmed case, as a 70-year-old Dutch ornithologist who visited a heavily rat-infested landfill just outside Ushuaia, Argentina, just days before boarding.

The incident has already claimed three lives aboard the ship and sparked international contact-tracing efforts across multiple continents.

Patient Zero has been named as Leo Schilperoord, a Dutch birdwatcher traveling with his 69-year-old wife, Mirjam Schilperoord.

The couple made a side trip in late March to a landfill a few miles outside Ushuaia, the southernmost city on Earth, famously nicknamed “The City at the End of the World,” specifically to observe the rare white-throated caracara.

Authorities now believe the pair inhaled aerosolized particles from the droppings or urine of long-tailed pygmy rice rats carrying the Andes strain of hantavirus while at the contaminated site.

Four days after that landfill visit, on April 1, the Schilperoords boarded the MV Hondius expedition cruise ship in Ushuaia along with approximately 112 other passengers.

Leo began showing symptoms, including a fever, headache, stomach pain, and diarrhea, on April 6 and died on the ship five days later.

His wife also succumbed to the virus.

“Mirjam got off the ship, along with Leo’s body, on April 24, during a planned stop on the Atlantic island of Santa Helena. She flew to Johannesburg in South Africa and transferred on a KLM flight bound for the Netherlands but never made it. The crew found her too sick to fly and removed her. She collapsed at the airport and died the next day,” the Post reports.

According to a report from the New York Post, “The couple — from Haulerwijk, a small village of 3,000 people in the Netherlands — were identified in obituaries published in their monthly village magazine.”

The Andes strain of hantavirus is unique because it is the only known variant capable of limited person-to-person transmission, though this remains rare.

Most cases occur through contact with infected rodent urine, droppings, or saliva, often via aerosolized particles when the droppings are disturbed.

A rodent bite or scratch can also transmit the virus, but that is uncommon.

The CDC has classified the risk to the general public in America as “extremely low” and continues to monitor the situation.

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Milei Launches ‘Isaac Accords’ To Expand Israeli Influence In Latin America

Argentinian President Javier Milei formally launched the Isaac Accords on Saturday, a new initiative aimed at strengthening political, economic, and cultural cooperation between Israel and Latin America.

Milei announced the initiative following a meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, who visited Buenos Aires on Saturday as part of a regional diplomatic tour. 

The Isaac Accords are being promoted in partnership with Washington and are modeled after the Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and several Arab countries, including the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco.

Milei said Argentina would serve as a “pioneer” alongside the US to promote the new framework to other Latin American countries, including Uruguay, Panama, and Costa Rica.

Foreign Minister Gideon Saar praised Milei’s love of Judaism and Israel as “sincere, powerful, and moving.” Before the meeting began, Milei recited the “Shehecheyanu,” a traditional Jewish blessing, and placed a kippah on his head.

“When the president saw me place the kippah on my head to make the blessing, he immediately placed on his own head the kippah he keeps in his office,” Saar wrote. 

After his election, Milei “transformed Argentina from a critic of Israel to one of its staunchest supporters,” according to the Times of Israel,including announcing plans to move its embassy to occupied Jerusalem.

Though Milei was raised Catholic, he has stated he will convert to Judaism once he leaves office. Argentine officials said that possible joint projects with Israel in the fields of technology, security, and economic development are already under consideration. 

Argentina’s Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno is scheduled to travel to Israel in February for additional talks to advance the initiative.

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File on Bizarre Argentine UFO Event Deemed Classified for National Security Reasons

In an eyebrow-raising story out of Argentina, a police report concerning a recent UFO incident involving mesmerized cattle has been deemed classified for national security reasons by government officials. According to a local media outlet, the bizarre event occurred on August 14th in the village of Candioti when police received word that multiple residents had observed a “white light with violet flashes” floating over the community. An officer dispatched to investigate the UFO sighting was soon alerted to a strange commotion unfolding among the animals at a ranch along the way. Arriving at the location, he likely could not believe his eyes at the wondrous scene before him.

To the astonishment of the officer and other witnesses, the ranch’s cows were eerily walking in a circle beneath the mysterious ball of light hovering overhead. Meanwhile, the property’s horses were thrashing around in a manner suggesting that they were deeply disturbed by what was unfolding around them. After a few minutes, the UFO suddenly vanished. Its disappearance seemingly broke the spell cast over the animals as the horses immediately calmed down, and the cows stopped their ritualistic circling. Silence fell over the field, with the witnesses understandably wondering what they had just seen.

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U.S. ranchers oppose Trump’s plan to import more Argentine beef, experts doubt it will lower prices

President Donald Trump’s plan to cut record beef prices by importing more meat from Argentina is running into heated opposition from U.S. ranchers who are enjoying some rare profitable years and skepticism from experts who say the president’s move probably wouldn’t lead to cheaper prices at grocery stores.

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association along with the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund United Stockgrowers of America and other farming groups – who are normally some of the president’s biggest supporters – all criticized Trump’s idea because of what it could do to American ranchers and feedlot operators. And agricultural economists say Argentine beef accounts for such a small slice of beef imports – only about 2% – that even doubling that wouldn’t change prices much.

South Dakota rancher Brett Kenzy said he wants American consumers to determine whether beef is too expensive, not the government. And so far there is little sign that consumers are substituting chicken or other proteins for beef on their shopping lists even though the average price of a pound of ground beef hit its highest point ever at $6.32 in the latest report before the government shutdown began.

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Trump bet $40B on Milei, but what do Americans get out of it?

It has been a busy week for U.S. policy towards Argentina.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Wednesday that the U.S. would be doubling the assistance it is marshaling for Argentina from $20 billion to $40 billion. The increase comes ahead of legislative elections on October 26 that will elect half the lower house and one-third of the upper house, and represents an increasingly strenuous effort in Washington to bolster Argentine President Javier Milei financially and politically.

Ironically, one reason for an even bigger bailout package might have been a comment by the White House itself. Heading into a meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, an optimistic Milei is reported to have said “we will have dollars pouring out of our ears.” During the meeting, Trump burst that bubble, remarking that “if he loses, we’re not going to be generous with Argentina,” a remark that immediately hit markets.

A day later, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tried to remedy the situation, saying that beyond the original amount the U.S. had committed to lend Argentina, the Trump administration was coordinating the delivery of another $20 billion for the country from banks and sovereign wealth funds. Bessent invoked an “economic Monroe Doctrine” and said the outcome of upcoming elections in Chile and Colombia depended on the fate of Milei’s presidency. He thus grounded the need for assistance in the possibility that electorates in those countries might follow the cue from Argentine voters despite their very different circumstances (as detailed below).

Milei’s first term ends formally in 2027, but he is under severe pressure from domestic politicians and international investors. Argentina was a darling of the markets following Milei’s election in 2023 as he pushed through radical reductions in the size of government by decree, arguing that it was the only way to deliver the country from a long history of high inflation and serial defaults.

However, in early September, his party received a drubbing from voters tired of austerity in the province of Buenos Aires, home to roughly 40% of the population. This hit Argentine bonds and led to a sharp depreciation of the Argentine peso. Local and foreign investors fled, worried that the results in the provincial election were a harbinger of worse to come in the congressional polls.

By the end of September, the U.S. had stepped in, offering Milei’s government a level of support practically unprecedented in recent history (and yet apparently still not enough). The Treasury offered an arrangement where Argentina could borrow dollars against pesos, hinted that it might buy the country’s debt, and later even purchased the country’s currency in foreign exchange markets.

While Mexico did receive ample support from the U.S. in 1995, when that country suffered its own devaluation shock, the U.S. Treasury did not actually buy Mexican pesos on that occasion, unlike its actions during the current intervention in Argentine markets. And the U.S. rescue efforts for Mexico were for a country that was a member of the North American Free Trade Agreement, already the U.S.’s third-largest trading partner (it is now the biggest), and supported a new president about to enter a six-year term after an election.

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Eerie Animal Mutilations Mystify Argentine Ranchers

The owners of a ranch in Argentina are searching for answers after they lost both a cow and a horse to what appears to be the infamous cattle mutilation phenomenon. According to a local media report, the eerie case began last month in Villa de la Quebrada when a downed heifer was found with a cut jaw and its tongue, eye, and udder removed with what appeared to be remarkable precision. “What we found strange,” one of the ranch owners recalled, “is that it had a burn inside the mouth like it was made with a laser.” The situation became even more concerning last week when he noticed that one of their horses had gone missing, which led to another gruesome discovery.

To his astonishment, he soon stumbled upon the unfortunate mare, which had suffered a similar grisly fate, bearing “the same characteristics of the cow,” including precise cuts to its jaw and carefully removed body parts. The rancher noted that in both instances, the remains of the slain animals were of no interest to scavengers that would normally feast on such a free meal. Understandably baffled by the two incidents, he was skeptical that the killings were the work of human hands. “It does not make sense for one or more people to do all this and leave the animal lying,” he mused, arguing that a sinister miscreant would have at least taken the heifer’s remains.

With that scenario having been dismissed by the rancher, he offered an otherworldly explanation for what might be behind the two unsettling events. Citing “news and documentaries we have seen,” he pointed to two possible culprits: the chupacabras or aliens. That said, he conceded that the cases will likely remain a mystery as “the reality is that no one knows how to tell you exactly what may have happened to them or what would be the cause.” What do you think downed the rancher’s animals? Are the incidents a case of the cattle mutilation mystery going international, or did they perish under more prosaic circumstances?

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The United States promotes an alliance with Argentina in artificial intelligence, nuclear energy, and critical minerals to counter China’s influence in the region

Artificial intelligence is at the center of great-power competition. The United States is promoting “American AI” through initiatives such as the Partnership for Global Inclusivity on AI (PGIAI), launched with industry partners to expand AI access and training globally.

The White House’s AI Action Plan (2025) explicitly identifies diplomacy and standard-setting as tools to align partner nations with U.S. frameworks.

By embedding U.S.-based AI ecosystems in Hispanic America, Washington offers democratic governance standards and trusted digital infrastructure.

This strategy not only supports innovation but also reduces the risk of dependency on Chinese platforms, which carry surveillance and data security concerns.

While outcomes are not guaranteed, these initiatives increase the likelihood that regional AI standards will align with U.S. interests.

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