Fact Sheet 

• Population: 45,864,941 (July 2021 est.)
• Capital: Buenos Aires
• System of Governance: Presidential Republic
• Chief of State and Head of Government: President Alberto Ángel Fernández
• Majority Language: Spanish
• Majority Religions: Christianity (Roman Catholic, 92%; Protestant, 2%)
• GDP Per Capita: $22,064 (2019 est. in 2010 U.S. dollars)

History of Relationship Between the U.S. and Argentina

The U.S. government officially recognized the Government of Buenos Ayres, what would become the Argentine Republic, in 1823, seven years after its declaration of independence from Spain. Though recognized by the United States and other foreign powers, this government struggled to establish itself as the legitimate government in the country, repeatedly facing challenges to its attempts to centralize power in Buenos Aires and efforts by its neighbors to assume control over the borderlands. During this period of intermittent conflict, power was consolidated in the office of the president and the military gained a position of prominence. The consequences of these trends would be borne out decades later.

For much of its early history, the country was controlled by a democratically elected government. However, popular dissatisfaction with its inability to rectify the country’s economic crisis during the Great Depression, in addition to conservative and liberal frustration with the government’s neutrality during World War II, caused it to lose popularity and resulted in a number of exchanges of power over the course of the early 20th century. It was following this period of instability that, in 1943, the government was overthrown in a coup and Juan Perón ascended to power. Perón was a divisive leader, and his tenure preceded another period of political turmoil and instability leading to the Guerra Sucia (Dirty War). During this seven-year period, tens of thousands of Argentine citizens were summarily executed for suspected links to anti-government insurgent groups, a tragedy which would come to have lasting effects on the country. This was a tumultuous period for US relations. Members of the US government were divided over whether to support the Perón dictatorship in an effort to limit the spread of communism or recenter issues of human rights in U.S. foreign policy.

In 1983, democracy was restored in Argentina and it has remained as a stable constitutional republic though the country faced a series of economic crises in subsequent years. These crises cemented economic relations between Argentina and the United States. Argentina’s economic recovery from a crisis in the 1990s occurred at the peak of neoliberalism’s popularity, and is often touted as a shining example of the potential success of Washington Consensus policies. Relations between the two countries remained largely concerned with issues of trade, lending, and monetary policy into the 20th century. Though U.S. strategic interests have shifted in recent years, the two remain close partners.

U.S. Strategic Interests in Argentina

The United States’ main strategic interests in Argentina and South America as a whole are the promotion of democracy and human rights, counterterrorism, rule of law, regional economic integration, resource and infrastructure development, and citizen security. In an effort to advance these interests, the United States has engaged Argentina in a number of bilateral and multilateral agreements and provides financial, advisory, and other forms of assistance in exchange for their cooperation.  

In recent years, counterterrorism, both regional and international, has become increasingly important in U.S.-Argentine relations. The two countries worked closely in the development of the Western Hemisphere Counterterrorism Ministerial (WHCM) which has advocated for Latin American countries to follow the American lead on terrorist designations including Hezbollah in Lebanon. The United States also provides assistance to the Argentine military and law enforcement agencies, in the form of training and education programs, technical assistance, and financial support, in an effort to advance the country’s counterterrorism efforts.

The United States has sought cooperation from the Argentine government on issues related to the transnational trafficking of illicit drugs. To this end, the U.S. State Department’s International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau has implemented a number of programs designed to encourage inter-agency cooperation between American and Argentine law enforcement. Among these programs are the 2016 Preventing and Combating Serious Crime Agreement, which sought to facilitate information sharing between law enforcement agencies in each country, and the 2017 bilateral working group on cybersecurity, which supported efforts to identify and root out illegal activities conducted virtually.