Trump's 'chainsaw' ally wins key election in South America



Since taking office in December 2023, Argentina's self-proclaimed "anarcho-capitalist" President Javier Milei has successfully taken a "chainsaw" to his leftist predecessors' ruinous policies and rescued his nation from an economic death spiral.

Despite delivering significant results, the fate of the Argentine president's libertarian agenda and his nation's continued support from the U.S. were conditional on the success of Milei's Freedom Advances party in Sunday's midterm elections.

Fortunately for Milei and his anti-left alliance with the United States, the Freedom Advances party prevailed over its leftist rivals in almost every district in the country, securing nearly 41% of the national vote — far and above the result reportedly expected by the Milei government.

Milei's party picked up 64 seats in the lower house of the Argentine National Congress and 12 seats in the Senate. The ruling party exceeded the threshold necessary to sustain Milei's presidential vetoes.

President Donald Trump congratulated Milei "on his Landslide Victory" early Monday morning, noting, "Our confidence in him was justified by the People of Argentina."

"He's making us all look good. Congratulations Javier!" added Trump.

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Photo by Tomas Cuesta/Getty Images

"The [Argentine] president is fighting 100 years of bad economic history and policy," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said at an Oct. 14 Cabinet meeting where Milei was present. "There's a midterm election coming up. We think he's going to do quite well and then continue his reform agenda."

Bessent indicated that whereas the Obama administration "wasted" an opportunity to support Latin American governments when they moved center-right politically, the Trump administration is forming economic bridges with like-minded nations that "want to do the right thing."

'The entire country confirmed its will to irreversibly change the destiny of our homeland.'

In the case of Argentina, whose stability Bessent indicated was "in the strategic interest of the United States," American support recently came in the form of a $20 billion currency swap — a lifeline bypassing the International Monetary Fund that is aimed at economically stabilizing the country — and the possibility of $20 billion more in private credit.

Trump underscored the importance of the election and noted that if Milei and his party didn't win, the U.S. would "not be generous with Argentina."

"Our approvals are somewhat subject to who wins the election because if a socialist or — in the case of New York City — a communist wins, you feel a lot differently about making an investment," said Trump, suggesting further that the U.S. wouldn't waste money supporting a government kneecapped by or captive to a leftist philosophy.

Milei noted in his victory speech that when the new lawmakers take their congressional seats in December, Argentina "will have the most reformist Congress in Argentina," and his party will work to make Argentina "the most free country in the world," reported the Buenos Aires Herald.

"Today, the entire country confirmed its will to irreversibly change the destiny of our homeland," added Milei.

Florida Rep. María Elvira Salazar (R) stated on Sunday, "Milei is the moral reference for the hemisphere, the exact opposite of Maduro. He's proving that freedom, capitalism, and democracy still work. President Trump recognizes that, and together we can help Latin America prosper with those same values."

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Homeowner fatally shoots intruder approaching him with chainsaw; court docs say killing ruled 'justifiable homicide'



An Indiana homeowner fatally shot an intruder approaching him with a chainsaw last month — and WNDU-TV reported last week, citing court documents, that the killing has been ruled a "justifiable homicide."

What are the details?

Authorities around 9:20 p.m. Dec. 14 responded to a call about a shooting at a residence in the 1100 block of Beale Street in South Bend, the station said.

Arriving officers found a man, now identified as 68-year-old Richard Davis, suffering from a gunshot wound, WNDU said, adding that he later died at a hospital.

The subsequent investigation involving accounts from witnesses, including neighbors, determined that a homeowner and his wife were getting ready to enter their house when they received an alarm from their security system, the station said.

The homeowner asked his wife to remain in their car while he approached the rear gate of their property, WNDU reported, citing court documents.

The station said at that point, Davis was said to have approached the homeowner while holding a chainsaw above his shoulders.

The homeowner said when Davis advanced toward him, he feared he would die or be seriously injured, WNDU reported.

With that, the homeowner told police he fired his handgun once, striking Davis, and told his wife to call 911, the station said.

Davis reportedly took the chainsaw out of the homeowner's garage prior to the shooting, WNDU said, adding that it isn't clear if the chainsaw was operating at the time.

The St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office said since it can't prove the shooting wasn't a justifiable homicide, no criminal charges will be filed in connection with the shooting, the station said.

'F*** around and find out'

One commenter on WNDU's Facebook page adamantly defended the homeowner's actions.

"You do that on my property, it's called ... f*** around and find out," the commenter wrote, adding that "worthless people" should "quit breaking the f****** [law] and taking ... s***. More people need to start sticking up for their [property]. I bet the crime rate will go down."

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Chainsaw-wielding fugitive walks toward deputy, who orders him to put it down. Instead, fugitive grabs shotgun, points it at deputy — who then opens fire on suspect.



An Indiana sheriff's deputy shot a fugitive last week who authorities said raised a shotgun at the deputy who was attempting to serve warrants to him.

What are the details?

Three fully uniformed Harrison County sheriff's deputies in marked patrol vehicles traveled Friday to a residence on North Tobacco Landing Road in Laconia to serve active felony warrants out of Kentucky and Indiana to 28-year-old Michael W. Kerns, authorities said.

The deputies arrived at the location around 11:40 a.m. and went to a detached garage in the rear of the residence — and that's where Kerns' white pickup truck was seen in front of the garage.

Deputy Sean O’Sullivan saw Kerns inside the garage — and after the deputy made contact with the fugitive, Kerns began approaching O'Sullivan while holding a chainsaw.

O'Sullivan ordered Kerns to put the chainsaw down and come outside, but Kerns wouldn't comply and instead walked toward a room in the garage.

With that, the deputy entered the garage and continued to order Kerns to come outside, but Kerns walked into the room in question and grabbed a shotgun.

O'Sullivan ordered Kerns to put the shotgun down, retreated out of the garage, told his fellow deputies that Kerns was armed, and took cover behind Kerns' pickup truck.

Kerns then ran out of the garage and raised the shotgun toward the deputy, who responded by firing three 9mm rounds at Kerns, striking him once in the right shoulder, authorities said.

Kerns was immediately taken into custody, and the shotgun was secured. No deputies were hurt, WAVE-TV reported.

What happened next?

Kerns was taken to a hospital, after which the sheriff's department asked detectives and crime scene investigators from the Indiana State Police to process the scene and investigate the shooting. All body camera and in-car videos were given to the state police, and O'Sullivan was placed on paid administrated leave amid the investigation.

Kerns was charged with possession of over 10 grams of methamphetamine with a firearm, intimidation, criminal recklessness, resisting law enforcement, and pointing a firearm — all felonies, Harrison County Sheriff Nick Smith told TheBlaze on Wednesday. Smith added to TheBlaze that Kerns is behind bars.

(H/T: The Police Tribune)