Overview

• After declining to answer on TV, José Luis Espert released a video late Thursday acknowledging a 2020 advance of $200,000 linked to a Guatemalan mining firm and insisting it was private consulting, not campaign funding.
• Official Bank of America accounting entered as evidence in the 2023 Texas trial USA v. Mercer‑Erwin documents the transfer routed through U.S. banks to an account Espert says was declared in Argentina.
• President Javier Milei publicly backed Espert on X, while opposition figure Juan Grabois cited the U.S. records in complaints seeking investigation by Argentine courts.
• Reporting also shows Espert used aircraft tied to Federico “Fred” Machado more than 30 times during the 2019 campaign, a logistical support he distinguishes from the 2020 payment.
• Machado remains detained on U.S. charges involving drug‑trafficking, fraud and money‑laundering, a context that gives the cross‑border money trail heightened legal and political weight.