Toto Caputo tamed a journalist for accusing him of having undeclared money

In a new episode exposing the clash between Javier Milei's government and militant journalism, the Minister of Economy Luis "Toto" Caputo was involved in a tense exchange with the ultra K journalist from El Destape, Jon Heguier. During a conference, Heguier insinuated that the official had dollars "under the mattress," which prompted a firm response from the minister.

The situation began when the journalist launched a question loaded with suspicion: "I wanted to know if this Argentina of Milei allows a minister who has dollars under the mattress to use them in this government regime."

Caputo didn't hesitate to interrupt him: "Because you're saying a level of nonsense... what are you talking about? Are you saying I have dollars under the mattress? Don't be disrespectful then."

The minister, visibly upset, demanded an immediate retraction: "You're not asking, you made a statement that is disrespectful. Retract yourself this instant."

Under pressure, Heguier tried to reformulate his question, but Caputo didn't allow the statement to be trivialized: "Having dollars abroad is allowed. It's not the same as having them under the mattress, as you suggest, which implies not having them declared. That is very different. If you meant to refer to that, you expressed yourself poorly."

A clear message about economic freedom

In his response, Caputo also took the opportunity to explain the spirit of the new fiscal transparency regime promoted by the government: "We promote freedom. Those who want to have dollars abroad can have them. Those who want to bring them can do so. This measure aims to give more freedom to those who have undeclared dollars, under the mattress or in a safety deposit box."