Argentine President Milei attacked with stones amid corruption scandal

Argentine President Javier Milei faced a hostile crowd on Wednesday as he campaigned near the capital, with demonstrators pelting his vehicle with stones, plants, and bottles in protest over a corruption scandal, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reporters said.

Milei, who was traveling in the back of a pickup truck and greeting supporters in Lomas de Zamora, 20km south of Buenos Aires, was quickly escorted from the scene by his security team. Presidential spokesman Manuel Adorni confirmed on X that the president sustained no injuries.

The vehicle also carried Milei’s sister, Karina Milei, and other officials. After the attack, scuffles erupted between supporters and opponents of the libertarian leader, leaving at least one female supporter with rib injuries requiring ambulance transport.

The confrontation occurred amid controversy surrounding allegations of corruption at the public disability agency, in which Karina Milei, a presidential secretary and close aide to the president, is implicated.

Minutes before the incident, the president addressed the scandal triggered by leaked audio recordings from Diego Spagnuolo, the former head of the agency. In the recordings, Spagnuolo claimed Karina Milei pocketed funds intended for people with disabilities.

"Everything (the agency head) says is a lie," President Milei said, defending his sister.