At the Mercosur summit in Foz do Iguaçu—where the EU trade deal was delayed without signing, as previously reported—Argentine President Javier Milei sharply criticized the bloc's bureaucracy, endorsed U.S. pressure on Venezuela, and invited Paraguayan President Santiago Peña for a state visit to strengthen bilateral ties.
Arriving with Chancellor Pablo Quirno, Milei met Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva before delivering a speech lambasting Mercosur: "The Mercosur was born with a clear mission to promote trade, increase prosperity, integrate markets and raise the competitiveness of our societies, and none of those central objectives were fulfilled." He decried the lack of a common market, free movement, global openness, and an "oversized and ineffective bureaucracy," while calling for flexibility on the EU deal and a competitive tariff.
Milei also supported U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's stance: "Argentina welcomes the pressure from the United States and Donald Trump to free the Venezuelan people. The time for a timid approach on this matter has run out." He demanded the release of Argentine gendarme Nahuel Gallo and democratic restoration.
Milei, along with presidents Santiago Peña (Paraguay), José Raúl Mulino (Panama), and representatives from Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, signed a declaration urging peaceful restoration of democracy in Venezuela and respect for human rights. Brazil and Uruguay did not join. Lula cautioned that armed intervention would cause a "humanitarian catastrophe."
Post-summit, Milei invited Peña for a state visit, confirmed by Quirno and Paraguay's Foreign Ministry. Peña replied on X: "Thank you very much, President and friend Javier Milei for the invitation to a State Visit... Argentina and Paraguay are sister nations, united by history and a shared destiny."
