President Javier Milei said Friday that Buenos Aires province’s Governor Axel Kicillof should resign and threatened to take over the provincial administration after a string of high-profile murders, including a seven-year-old girl who died after being dragged along the road during a carjacking by two teenage assailants.

Her death has come to symbolize the political dispute over applying more draconian security policy in Argentina’s most populous province.

“If you are interested in the well-being of the people of Buenos Aires, get out of the way (that is, resign) and let us take over the province,” Milei wrote in an X post directed at Kicillof.

In a Friday press conference, Kicillof announced he would file a criminal complaint to investigate Milei for possible “crimes against the constitutional order of the province.” 

“Don’t be a coward, get off Twitter [as X was formerly known] and let’s get together to work seriously,” he added.

Deputies from Kicillof’s Peronist coalition, Unión por la Patria, accused the president of playing “cheap political games” in a statement.

On Tuesday night, two young men aged 14 and 17 accosted Gómez’s mother at a stoplight in the provincial capital, La Plata, forcing her out of the vehicle. As they drove off, they attempted to push Kim out of the window, according to the investigation. However, she became entangled and was dragged for 15 blocks. She died of her injuries. 

The province has borne witness to several other violent deaths in recent weeks, including two teenagers found bludgeoned to death under a bridge in Florencio Varela, a delivery worker who was stabbed in Moreno, and several other murders during vehicle thefts. Local residents have responded to these killings with vociferous protests that have sometimes ended in police crackdowns.

Kicillof, a center-left Peronist, suggested working with Milei to address security in the province and accused the national government of cutting funds to the province. In a Thursday press conference, Kicillof accused Mileistas of reaching a “low point” by using Kim Gómez’s death for political gain.

However, the next day, the far-right president wrote that he would not work with the governor, saying the province was a “bloodbath” and accusing Kicillof of believing “criminals are the victims” — a reference to security policy that has allegedly privileged a focus on the social conditions of the perpetrators over more punitive approaches.

“We believe that criminals are the bad guys,” Milei wrote, adding that he follows the “zero tolerance” doctrine of former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and late U.S. economist Gary Becker. 

Argentina’s constitution allows the national government to take over a province, but only to fend off invasions, support authorities who are requesting help after being deposed, or to “guarantee a republican form of government.” At the time of writing, Milei had not given any indication that he would act on his threat.

The Unión por la Patria bloc of deputies accusing Milei of carrying out “cheap political games” with the recent killings.

“We already have a scammer for a president,” they said, referring to the $LIBRA cryptocurrency scandal for which Milei is under investigation, both in Argentina and abroad. “And we don’t like that. We don’t want a vulture for president.”