In February of this year, one of the most strategic movements in Argentine foreign policy began to take shape. On February 12, at the request of Santiago Caputo, SIDE signed a contract with the lobby consulting firm Tactic Global, run by North American Barry Bennett and Argentine Leonardo Scatturice. At that time the firm was not yet registered with the United States Department of Justice – its registration would only arrive in May – but it was already operating as an agent of foreign interests, also hired by the government of Vietnam.
The agreement with SIDE coincided with a process of unprecedented rapprochement between Milei and Trumpism. Ten days later, on February 22, Milei was able to greet Trump at the CPAC convention, the annual congress of the North American right. It was the first public contact that sealed a political relationship that would quickly become an operational bridge between Buenos Aires and Washington.
On March 25, Bennett landed at the Casa Rosada. The former Trump campaign advisor met with Santiago Caputo. There was talk of “economic and commercial cooperation,” but the visit coincided with the Milei government’s need to obtain financial oxygen and external political support in the midst of adjustment and social crisis.
Less than a month later, on April 14, the North American Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, arrived in Buenos Aires. And, in parallel, investor Rob Citrone also traveled, arriving on Scatturice’s plane, along with the entire Tactic entourage to accompany him to the meeting with President Milei. Discovery Capital, Citrone’s fund, is not only an important investor for Argentina. It is also an important client of the consulting firm of Scatturice and Bennett.
On May 4, the former US president sent an emissary to discuss the tariff scheme with Argentina. Washington sought to guarantee preferential conditions for its companies and, in exchange, offered diplomatic support and eventual financial relief. Just a month later, on June 4, Bennett returned to the country to advance the details. A few days later, on June 11, a photo showed him alongside Scatturice and Trump: it was the public consecration of an alliance of business and power.
On July 28, both operators celebrated the announcement of an agreement for the Visa Waiver, the program that exempts citizens of countries allied to the United States from visas. A day later, Bennett celebrated it on his X social network account: “Going to visa-free travel with Argentina is a great declaration of friendship between our countries. Milei is going for another great victory!”
On August 1, the North American government imposed 10 percent tariffs on Argentine exports, although it left the negotiation open to exempt a hundred products.
On September 16, Bennett reappeared at the CPAC in Paraguay, where he shared the stage with libertarian leaders from the region and operators around Milei. The meeting was crucial, because the Argentine president was coming off a strong electoral blow and there Bennett promised to get a meeting with Trump. Four days later, on September 20, the Argentine Presidency announced that the meeting with Trump would take place on September 23 in New York, during the UN General Assembly. It was another example of Bennett’s management skills. When the meeting took place, the lobbyist wrote on his social network account
In October, the exchange accelerated. On the 7th of that month, Bennett arrived in the country on the Scatturice plane, that jet that had been involved in the controversy due to the trip of his partner Laura Arrieta who entered the country without her luggage being checked. He stayed until the 13th in Buenos Aires.
