President of Chile, José Antonio Kast (Image source: x/joseantoniokast)
SANTIAGO: Far-right Chilean President José Antonio Caste is scheduled to meet his Argentine counterpart in Buenos Aires on Monday, his first trip abroad since taking office in March.The visit continues the tradition of Chilean presidents making their first official visit to Argentina.Cast, who are politically allied, and the liberal Argentine President Javier Miley, are close allies of US President Donald Trump, and are part of the growing right-wing trend in the region.The two men had previously met after Cast won the election last December, and appeared in a photo with a chainsaw, a symbol of the budget cuts implemented by Miley.“It is more important now than ever to develop joint projects,” Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Perez Maquina said on Sunday. “We have great ideas about mining, energy, border crossings and the fight against organized crime.”The visit comes days after a failed attempt to arrest Chilean fighter Galvarino Apablaza in Argentina.Abablaza, who held political refugee status in Argentina from 2010 until the courts overturned it in February, is accused of participating in the 1991 assassination of right-wing Chilean Senator Jaime Guzmán.Chile and Argentina share a border of about 3,300 miles (5,300 km), and Buenos Aires is Santiago’s second-largest trading partner in Latin America, with trade estimated at about $8 billion by 2025.
