On social networks, the former presidential spokesperson Gabriela Cerruti made a statement about the numerous scandals of the Chief of Staff and presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni. The former official who held the position of being the main communicator during the government of Alberto Fernandez He referred to the various questions raised against his successor.
“I can only say that I have lived in the same house for thirty years, that I have never paid for a private plane and that I do not have a husband, but it would never have occurred to me to take a family member on the Tango. And that I answered 12 questions per press conference and that seemed like few to you,” Cerruti stated in his digital account.
In her X account, the journalist Silvia Mercado shared the former spokesperson’s message and highlighted: “I know her. I know that what Gabriela Cerruti says is true. Also that she gave few press conferences compared to those Adorni gave in the first year of government and that she attacked me several times with fallacies. I understand that it was her job. I was doing mine.”
Cerruti’s recent gesture is part of the accusations against Adorni for different points of internal tension in the government and in the media agenda. The Chief of Staff was at the center of one of the most resonant political crises of the government of Javier Milei based on a sequence of episodes that combine the use of public resources, high-cost personal trips and questions about their assets, in a context that is especially sensitive due to the official discourse against “caste” and state spending.
The first focus of the scandal originated during the presidential tour in New York within the framework of the “Argentina Week 2026”, where Adorni was part of the official delegation that traveled on the presidential plane. The controversy broke out when it became known that his wife, Bettina Angeletti, He was also part of the flight without holding any public position, which generated criticism from both the opposition and pro-government sectors for possible misuse of state resources.
Images and records of activities in the United States confirmed the presence of Angeletti in the delegation, which led to requests for reports in Congress and even judicial complaints for alleged crimes such as embezzlement and abuse of authority. Adorni himself had been the one who, months before, announced restrictions to prevent the use of official aircraft for personal purposes, which deepened the political contradiction of the episode.
Faced with media pressure, the official tried different explanations. In public statements he maintained that his wife already had a paid ticket for more than $5,000 and that, due to schedule changes, she was added to the official flight at no cost to the State. In one of his most widespread phrases, he justified his decision by stating: ““I come for a week to work out here… I wanted my wife to accompany me because she is my life partner.”an argument that was widely questioned due to its personal tone compared to an official trip.
The controversy escalated when, days later, Adorni himself publicly acknowledged the error. In television statements, including on the Luis Majul program, he stated: “It was a terrible decision, not a crime,” and added that he did not realize the impact that accepting his partner to travel on the presidential plane would have. Along the same lines, he insisted that the episode did not generate expenses for the State and apologized, trying to frame the event as an error in judgment and not as an administrative irregularity.
The second chapter of the scandal arose from the dissemination of a video in which he is seen boarding a private plane with his family bound for Punta del Este. The round trip trip had an estimated cost of around $10,000, a figure that raised alarms about the origin of the funds used, given that it is not consistent with his salary as a public official.
The situation worsened because I was also accompanying him on that flight. Marcelo Grandio, a host linked to Public TV who depends on Adorni’s own orbit, which raised questions about possible conflicts of interest. Justice began to analyze whether the trip could fall under the category of gifts, that is, undue benefits received by an official.
Faced with these accusations, Adorni maintained that the trip was paid for with his own money and that it was a family activity for a weekend. In public statements he explained that it was “family money spent on a four-day family activity” and that these movements would be reflected in his sworn statements. However, up to the time of the journalistic investigations, no conclusive evidence had been presented to prove the origin of the funds.
The third axis of the scandal focuses on his assets. Journalistic investigations and political complaints pointed out the existence of allegedly undeclared real estate, including a property in a gated community in the Buenos Aires district of Exaltación de la Cruz—in the country Indio Cua Golf Club—registered in the name of his wife, and another home in the town of Martínez. These properties do not appear in the public sworn statements of the official, which led to suspicions of illicit enrichment.
Added to this are versions about an apartment in the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Caballito that would not have been correctly declared before the control agencies. The inconsistencies between the official’s income level – close to 2,000 or 2,500 dollars per month – and the value of the assets and expenses detected were one of the main areas of questioning.
Asked about these complaints, Adorni responded publicly: “Everything that has to be declared, is declared,” and suggested that some of the information would appear in future heritage presentations. In another intervention, visibly annoyed by journalistic questions, he went so far as to state: “I spend my money on what seems best to me… I am not going to discuss it with you,” avoiding going into depth about the origin of the funds.
Finally, in his reappearance at a press conference after several weeks of silence, Adorni avoided giving specific answers on the most sensitive points of the scandal. Faced with questions about his assets, travel and use of resources, he relied on the existence of ongoing judicial investigations to not provide details and maintained that “he had nothing to hide,” while describing the complaints as a “political operation.”
The accumulation of episodes—the trip to New York with his wife on the presidential plane, the family transfer by private jet to Punta del Este and the patrimonial inconsistencies—configured a picture of high political impact that strained the official discourse on austerity and transparency. Beyond Adorni’s own explanations, the case continues under judicial and media analysis, and has established itself as one of the main sources of wear and tear for President Milei’s closest circle.
Image gallery
