UPDATE: Hedge fund billionaire pressed Treasury Secretary for Argentina bailout, Argentine media reports

On September 24, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a $20 billion package to rescue the Argentinian economy. It was a dramatic move to bail out a country that has little economic impact on the United States. Argentine President Javier Milei is scheduled to meet President Trump at the White House later this month.

On Monday, Popular Information revealed that the taxpayer-funded bailout had massive economic benefits for hedge fund billionaire Rob Citrone, a personal friend and former colleague of Bessent. Citrone’s fund, Discovery Capital, had bet heavily on Argentina, purchasing Argentine debt and equity in numerous companies closely tied to the country’s overall economy.

Citrone’s investments reflected his belief that Milei’s right-wing economic program, which emphasizes deregulation and sharply reduced government spending, would revitalize the Argentine economy.

That theory began to unravel as growth slowed, unemployment spiked, and Milei’s popularity tanked. This spring, Citrone reportedly urged Bessent to help Milei secure a separate $20 billion package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The IMF funds began to arrive in April, but proved insufficient to turn the Argentine economy around.

Concerns turned into panic after Milei’s party was routed in the Buenos Aires provincial election in early September, fueling fears that Milei would soon lose control of the economic agenda. Investors began dumping the peso and liquidating other Argentine assets, which spelled major trouble for Citrone’s hedge fund.

Major Argentine media outlets are now reporting that Citrone asked Bessent for a United States rescue package. Ariel Maciel, Political Economy Editor at Perfil, a large Argentine media outlet, wrote that after the Buenos Aires elections, Citrone “returned to his friend and former colleague… to request a second bailout, this time from the very coffers Bessent manages: the US Treasury.”

CE Noticias Financieras, a major wire service in Latin America, similarly reported that after Argentine officials ran into resistance with lower-level Trump officials, “Citrone managed to connect with Bessent to get him to intervene directly.”

Maciel elaborated on his reporting during an appearance on Net TV, an Argentine broadcaster. “Citrone is really the one who intervenes. He basically tells Bessent, ‘Hey, we need to help in Argentina,’” Maciel said during the segment.

Popular Information contacted Discovery Capital and asked if the reports that Citrone asked Bessent to bail out Argentina were accurate. Discovery Capital declined to comment.

Maciel also noted that two weeks before Bessent announced the bailout, Citrone purchased additional bonds for “almost nothing.” Maciel said the timing of Citrone’s recent purchases has raised “suspicions” that Citrone had access to “confidential information.”