Press freedom groups condemn Javier Milei’s threats against journalists who investigated the $LIBRA cryptocurrency case, warning of rising hostility toward the media.

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Argentine press freedom and human rights organizations have condemned President Javier Milei for threatening journalists who investigated the $LIBRA cryptocurrency scandal, warning that his remarks could expose media workers to violence and undermine freedom of expression.

RELATED: Argentine Court Rules Milei University Funding Decree Unconstitutional

Speaking at a dinner hosted Friday by the Fundación Faro think tank, Milei attacked journalists who covered the $LIBRA case, accusing them of spreading false information and coordinating a political operation against his administration.

The remarks came hours after a court dismissed the judicial case involving the cryptocurrency, a digital asset promoted by Milei in February 2025 whose sharp price fluctuations harmed thousands of investors.

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Text Reads: 🗣️ Argentine President Javier Milei stated on Friday that “the ones who should be burned at the stake are the sons of b*tches,” after publicly singling out media figures who covered the investigation into the cryptocurrency $LIBRA.
⚖️ These remarks were made during a dinner hosted by the Fundación Faro, just hours after the judiciary dismissed the case. Milei specifically mentioned journalists from La Nación, Perfil, and A24.
📢 FOPEA (Forum for Argentine Journalism) denounced an “unprecedented escalation,” warning that such language “legitimizes violence.” The CELS (Center for Legal and Social Studies) described his comments as an “authoritarian escalation,” while the union SiPreBA called for an immediate response from the political and media spheres.
🔴 “The State has an obligation to protect journalists, not to turn them into targets,” FOPEA stated.

During his speech, Milei threatened those he accused of wrongdoing with being “burned at the stake” and singled out five journalists by name: Hugo Alconada Mon, Carlos Pagni and Paulino Rodrigues of La Nación newspaper; Natalia Volosín of Perfil; and Luis Novaresio of A24 television.

“Let it be known that the sons of bitches in Argentina will receive no mercy,” the president declared. “Those who deserve to be burned at the stake are the sons of bitches.”

The remarks drew condemnation from press freedom and human rights organizations, which warned that publicly identifying journalists while using such threatening language could increase the risks they face in their work.

The Argentine Journalism Forum (FOPEA) said the reference to burning journalists at the stake, coupled with the president’s naming of specific media professionals, marked a significant escalation in government hostility toward the press.

“The state has an obligation to protect journalists, not turn them into targets,” the organization said. It urged Milei to stop stigmatizing journalists and called on political leaders, lawmakers and other institutions to publicly respond to the incident.

The Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) described the episode as an “authoritarian escalation” in a statement published on X. The organization warned that when a head of state publicly casts critics as enemies, it can encourage attacks and undermine democratic debate. It also argued that insults and defamatory attacks against journalistic work must have limits.

❌ESTO NO ES UN REPUDIO,
ES UN LLAMADO A LA ACCIÓN

🔊FRENEMOS LA INQUISICIÓN DE MILEI

El presidente Milei volvió a cruzar un límite gravísimo. La instigación a “quemar en la hoguera” a un grupo de periodistas debe generar una reacción inmediata de todo el arco político y… pic.twitter.com/XrXOohrVDe

— SiPreBA – Sindicato de Prensa de Buenos Aires (@sipreba) October 24, 2026

Text Reads: ❌THIS IS NOT A REJECTION,
IT’S A CALL TO ACTION
🔊LET’S STOP MILEI’S INQUISITION
President Milei has once again crossed a gravely serious line. The incitement to “burn at the stake” a group of journalists must provoke an immediate reaction from the entire political and media spectrum to halt the attacks on our profession. There will be no room for regrets if the violence promoted by the President ends up turning into facts.
This government, which nearly killed photographer Pablo Grillo in a savage crackdown, now calls, in the voice of its highest representative, to assault our colleagues, as has already happened. We send our solidarity to @halconada, @CarlosPagni2, @nataliavolosin, @paulinor76and @luisnovaresio and place ourselves at their disposal.
With threats on social media, repression in the streets, and attacks on rights in Congress, they seek to silence the press. From SiPreBA, we call to defend the Journalist’s Statute and to respond with more democracy in the face of the return to the Inquisition proposed by the Executive Branch.

CELS said the incident was part of a broader pattern of hostility toward media workers, including harassment, attacks on digital platforms and repression of journalists covering public demonstrations.

The Buenos Aires Press Union (SiPreBA) also condemned the president’s remarks, calling for an immediate response from political and media figures to stop the attacks. The union expressed solidarity with the journalists targeted by Milei and warned of the possible consequences of his rhetoric.

“There will be no room for regret if the violence promoted by the president ends up turning into actual incidents,” SiPreBA said.

The organizations called for political and institutional action to protect journalists and counter hostility toward the press following Milei’s public targeting of reporters who investigated the $LIBRA case.

The European Commission is checking whether laws Ukraine’s parliament passed last week earn it a €3.7 billion ($4.3 billion) EU payment, spokesperson Balázs Ujvári told reporters in Brussels on 19 October. He also said Ukraine’s 2027 funding gap stands at about €70 billion, and that the EU “cannot do this all alone.” How Ukraine pays for Russia’s war next year now depends on reforms in Kyiv and on money from Europe and beyond.

Russia keeps striking Ukraine’s power grid and cities, and Kyiv already faces a hole in next year’s war budget before any new military spending. Foreign money keeps salaries, pensions, and repairs flowing while Ukraine spends its own revenue on defense. So each delayed payment is felt at home while Russia hits the energy system again.

Brussels reads Kyiv’s new laws before paying

The payment is the second tranche of the EU’s macro-financial assistance to Ukraine, and each one depends on reforms, Ujvári said at the Commission’s midday briefing.

“We saw that last week some important laws were adopted in the Rada, and we are in the process of analyzing these laws and we will formulate our assessment thereafter,” he said.

On its third attempt, parliament passed a law on 15 October ending the VAT exemption for foreign parcels worth up to €150 from 1 July 2027, and making online marketplaces collect the tax. The Commission had warned the law was one of 12 conditions for the tranche. Fewer than 1% of the 75 million parcels Ukrainians receive each year were taxed, and lawmakers had rejected the measure twice despite IMF pressure.

About €30 billion is in the pipeline for Ukraine this year, mostly under the EU’s €90 billion support loan, if reforms continue, Ujvári said.

A €70 billion gap for 2027

Current pledges leave a gap of about €70 billion for 2027, Ujvári said, even counting the €45 billion ($52 billion) the EU has set aside for next year and some partners’ commitments.

“We cannot do this all alone. Therefore, our partners in general must step up,” he said. “They have to come forward with pledges, and they have to deliver on those commitments.”

On 16 October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked EU leaders for at least €70 billion more for 2027. They tasked the Commission with a proposal but set no deadline. Asked whether it would revisit using frozen Russian assets, Ujvári said it was “a little bit early” to discuss options in that detail. New EU borrowing has also grown costlier: 10-year rates rose from 3.2% to just above 4% in six months, he said.

The €90 billion loan was designed on the assumption that the war would end in 2026. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico said Slovakia and Hungary would opt out of new aid but would not block others.