The United States has placed sanctions on former Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, the Donald Trump administration announced on Friday. 

In a statement published on X, Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Kirchner and her one-time minister of planning, Julio Miguel de Vido, for their involvement in “significant corruption” during their time in office. Both officials and their immediate families will be barred from entering the United States.

“CFK and De Vido [sic] abused their positions by orchestrating and financially benefiting from multiple bribery schemes involving public works contracts, resulting in millions of dollars stolen from the Argentine government,” the statement read. “Multiple courts have convicted CFK and De Vido for corruption, undermining the Argentine people’s and investors’ confidence in Argentina’s future.”

“The United States will continue to promote accountability for those who abuse public power for personal gain,” it concluded. “These designations reaffirm our commitment to counter global corruption, including at the highest levels of government.”

On Friday evening, the former Argentine president issued a statement of her own, questioning Trump’s past dealings with Argentina and history of sexual misconduct while taking a veiled shot at her country’s current president, Javier Milei.

“Is this for a crypto scam? Because the truth is that I’ve never run a crypto scam in the United States or in any other country. Neither has my daughter,” she wrote.

“Did my son sexually abuse a journalist or writer in one of the most expensive stores in New York?” she continued. “Or did he bribe an American prostitute to keep their affair secret because it would have hurt his campaign? He didn’t do either of those things.”

In November 2024, Argentina’s Federal Cassation Chamber upheld Kirchner’s fraud conviction in a case known as “Vialidad.” She was previously sentenced in December 2022 to six years in prison for fixing 51 public works contracts with associate Lázaro Báez while serving as senator for Santa Cruz province. Kirchner was also given a lifetime ban from holding public office.

The current leader of the Peronist coalition has long maintained her innocence, calling her prosecution and subsequent conviction politically motivated. She has also been a frequent target of Republican officials in the United States, including Rubio and Texas Senator Ted Cruz, among others.

Previously, the Joe Biden administration leveled sanctions against former Paraguyan President Horacio Cartes and former Panamanian President Ricardo Mantinelli, along with former Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa and Vice President Jorge Glas. This is the first time that the U.S. government has sanctioned a former Argentine head of state.

Kirchner served as president from 2007 to 2015, while de Vido held office from 2003 to 2015 after first being appointed by the former’s husband and predecessor, Nestor Kirchner.