US Treasury secretary Scott Bessent has said a “large and forceful” intervention is on the table to support Argentina through a bout of severe market volatility, throwing a lifeline to libertarian President Javier Milei.

Bessent on Monday said Washington would consider purchases of Argentina’s currency or sovereign debt by a fund controlled by the US Treasury, adding “all options” were on the table.

He evoked the words of Mario Draghi, the former president of the European Central Bank during the Eurozone crisis, to say the US would do “whatever it takes” to sustain Argentine financial markets.

“We’re sending a message that if you do the right thing, if you follow good policies, that if you’re aligned with the values of the United States . . . we are willing to provide assistance when things move out of equilibrium,” Bessent said in comments to reporters and on social media.

In a post on X on Monday, Milei said: “Enormous thanks to @SecScottBessent and President @realDonaldTrump for their unconditional support for the Argentine people, who two years ago chose to turn the page on a century of decay, with great effort.”

“Those of us who defend the ideas of freedom must work together for the wellbeing of our people,” he added.

Milei, a close ally of Donald Trump, is trying to contain a run on the peso and a slide in asset prices after a disappointing local election result unnerved markets.

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