Javier Milei on deadly fentanyl: 'There was an atrocious cover-up by Kirchnerism'

At the close of the campaign event for La Libertad Avanza in La Plata, President Javier Milei dedicated a significant portion of his speech to the case of contaminated fentanyl that caused the deaths of more than 100 people in clinics and hospitals. "There was an atrocious cover-up by Kirchnerism," he stated, linking the case to cronyism, corruption, cover-up, and crime.

The president questioned the role of Governor Axel Kicillof and his Minister of Health, Nicolás Kreplak, pointing out that the Province was one of the main clients of the laboratory HLB Pharma Group S.A., owned by the Kirchnerist businessman Ariel García Furfaro. "Do you think it's a coincidence that the minister's brother is the judge handling the case?" Milei asked, referring to Judge Ernesto Kreplak.

In a combative tone, the President compared Kirchnerist corruption to drug trafficking: "It's worse than the drug trafficker. They want to take us to Venezuela or Cuba, they want you to be slaves as in communism." He also recalled the VIP vaccination scandal during the pandemic: "What can we discuss with people who set up a VIP vaccination center for their friends while people were dying."

Milei accused Kicillof of "turning his back on the people" and of running a deficit-ridden province that "is bleeding financially to feed his army of seat-warming bureaucrats.""Kicillof split the elections because he's afraid the violets will crush him. They're scared, the violet wave is coming," he declared before the libertarian supporters.

Hours earlier, the Presidency had released a statement titled "The fentanyl lord must go to prison", detailing the official actions in the case. The statement recalled that García Furfaro, linked to Lázaro Báez and with a criminal record for attempted homicide, went from being a greengrocer to a multimillionaire pharmaceutical entrepreneur during Kirchnerism, selling medicines to the State without health controls.

The official statement specified that the laboratory HLB Pharmahad not been inspected by ANMAT since February 2020. In September 2024, with Mario Lugones as Minister of Health, an inspection was ordered at the Ramallo laboratory —producer of HLB Pharma— which concluded in February 2025 with its disqualification, just two hours after the results were known. The measure was taken three months before the first death from contaminated fentanyl.

In March, ANMAT banned the use and distribution of "Propofol HLB, injectable IV emulsion, batch 60000," thus preventing deaths during surgeries. In addition, the Ministry of Security investigated the submission of false documentation to RENPRE and ARCA and reported the laboratory for aggravated tax evasion.

"It's not a minor detail that Kicillof and Nicolás Kreplak are the main clients of HLB Pharma," the statement warned, noting that if Judge Kreplak doesn't order the immediate arrest of García Furfaro, the Government will challenge him for conflict of interest.

The ruling party highlighted that, thanks to the swift action of Minister Lugones, all contaminated doses were withdrawn from the market, preventing hundreds of thousands of potential deaths. "We've done what no other government has done," the Presidency concluded, reaffirming that it will go "to the ultimate consequences" to ensure the accused businessman ends up behind bars.