Cúneo Libarona offered his judicial, political, and media contacts to a former American spy, and the opposition is demanding his resignation.
Images of Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona promising magistrates, legislators, and media outlets to a former CIA agent accused of sexual abuse went viral.
A video taken with a hidden camera went viral, showing Mariano Cúneo Libarona, Javier Milei's Minister of Justice, offering his services to Tim Ballard, a former US federal agent who became famous thanks to the success of the film “Sound of Freedom,” supposedly based on his life, which tells the story of a rescue operation to save children from a human trafficking network in Colombia. However, the man also has five complaints of sexual abuse against former employees.
The meeting took place in New York, and the official offered Ballard to review a bill before it is discussed in Congress and improve his relationship with the local press: "I'll send you the criminal charges I created next week. I made them the weekend after I saw your movie. The role of the woman who helps is not the same as the role of the woman who finances and the role of the woman who takes advantage; there are many different behaviors. I wrote a model, and I will send it to you so you can look at it, which is the model that will go to the National Congress. I can help you change that misunderstanding that existed in our country and I will get you media coverage."
The most controversial moment in the video is when the minister says he can put the businessman and former CIA agent in touch with influential figures in the judiciary and legislature: “I'll arrange some meetings for you with judges from different areas and universities so you can tell your story and explain the problem. The crime I saw in your films is closely linked to poverty. Judges, legislators, and universities need to know about it.”
The image of the Minister of Justice offering all his political influence to a foreign citizen sparked a new crisis in Javier Milei's government, whose two main campaign promises during his election campaign were criticism of “the caste” and his assertion that he would end corruption.
The opposition demands Cúneo Libarona's resignation
Esteban Paulón, national deputy for Encuentro Federal, spoke on Radio 10 and said: "We are calling for the impeachment of Mariano Cúneo Libarona. They first met at CPAC and then again in Buenos Aires. There was talk of agreements with Ballard. Ballard is the one who sells himself as a pedophile hunter, but he was actually filtering women into trafficking networks and abusing them. The link between Ballard and Milei is Laura Arrieta."
Later, on his social media accounts, the legislator wrote: “Cúneo Libarona must resign. Minister Cúneo Libarona must be removed from office urgently. He lacks competence and integrity. If President Milei does not ask him to resign, he will face the impeachment proceedings that we are presenting in the next few minutes in the Chamber of Deputies.”
Maximiliano Ferraro, president of the ARI Civic Coalition and national deputy, also addressed the issue in a text he posted on his official X account, which begins: "Just what the Minister of Justice needed. He was recorded in a meeting with Tim Ballard, a former CIA agent accused of sexual abuse, human trafficking, and fraud. He offered him a ‘tailor-made’ criminal law, political contacts, and media support to clean up his image in Argentina. A scandal of epic proportions that exposes influence peddling, violation of the Public Ethics Law, and illegal management of interests."
Ferraro emphasizes: "The minister cannot remain in office for another minute. Today's events add to a dark history and record that morally and politically disqualifies him from holding any public office: arrested for covering up the AMIA case, defender of Alperovich in a sexual abuse case, lawyer for businessmen charged in the Cuadernos case and in the Time Warp tragedy, and promoter of misogynistic and homophobic rhetoric."
He adds: “Cúneo Libarona must resign, be removed by the president, or face impeachment. This is a government that is constantly at odds with ethics and public integrity. They do not understand the limits and restrictions they have as public officials.”