Today, I am announcing the designation of Cristina Elisabet Fernandez de Kirchner (“CFK”), former president of Argentina, and Julio Miguel De Vido (“De Vido”), former Minister of Planning of Argentina, for their involvement in significant corruption during their time in public office. This action renders CFK, De Vido, and their immediate family members generally ineligible for entry into the United States.
CFK and De Vido abused their positions by orchestrating and financially benefitting from multiple bribery schemes involving public works contracts, resulting in millions of dollars stolen from the Argentine government. Multiple courts have convicted CFK and De Vido for corruption, undermining the Argentine people’s and investors’ confidence in Argentina’s future.
The United States will continue to promote accountability for those who abuse public power for personal gain. These designations reaffirm our commitment to counter global corruption, including at the highest levels of government.
These public designations are made under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024 (Div. F, P.L. 118-47), as carried forward by the Continuing Appropriations, 2025 (Div. A, H.R. 1968) (“Section 7031(c)”). Section 7031(c) requires the Secretary of State to publicly or privately designate foreign officials and their immediate family members about whom the Secretary has credible information of involvement in significant corruption or a gross violation of human rights.