Petri handed over his resignation as Defense Minister with a farewell letter to Milei: “Infinite gratitude”

With a farewell letter addressed to President Javier Milei, the national deputy elected by La Libertad Avanza, Luis Petri, announced his resignation from his position as Minister of Defense, which he had held since December 10, 2023, assuring in this context that “it will always be an honor.”

In the letter, which he shared on social networks, the outgoing official explained the reasons for his resignation, reviewed the milestones of his term in office and previewed the role he will take on as second vice-president of the House of Commons.

“I write to you to announce my resignation from the post of Secretary of Defense of the Nation, effective December 9, 2025. It will remain in my memory and in my heart that I served as Secretary of Defense during your presidency. It will forever be an honor,” the man from Mendoza began in the letter.

“When he honored me with the appointment to join his Cabinet, he entrusted me with a mission of enormous importance: to restore the operational effectiveness of the defense system, to modernize our armed forces, to project them into the future and, essentially, to support our men and women after decades of policies of cruelty, demonization, persecution and cancellation based on ideological prejudices,” he continued.

Petri opined that “the country owes its independence and freedom to its armed forces, headed by General San Martín, Belgrano and Güemes, along with many others, who formed the armies of the North and the Andes and liberated half the continent.” In his opinion, “saving this past bathed in glory is essential to make possible this present, in which our Armed Forces have regained the ability to defend Argentina from any foreign threat.”

“Today they are true guarantors of life, independence, freedom, sovereignty and territorial integrity: on the borders, with Operation Rock in Salta, Misiones and Jujuy; in the exclusive economic zone, where they take care of the resources of all Argentines; and in our skies with the integration of the F-16 weapon system,” he emphasized.

And he continued to list the tasks carried out by the Armed Forces: “They also do this by assisting in disasters and catastrophes and saving lives, as shown by the storms of Bahía Blanca, Zárate and Campana and the fires of Córdoba, Bariloche and El Bolsón, to name just a few examples in which they have shown courage and heroism.” When reviewing the pillars of his management, Petri emphasized that “in these two years” he had succeeded in driving forward “a historic transformation process”.

“Under his leadership and in accordance with his instructions as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, we implemented policies that enabled us to recover critical materiel, modernize doctrine, strengthen training and exercises with allied countries that defend the values of freedom, and advance reforms in the training of our cadets and volunteer soldiers essential to meeting current challenges,” he said. For the outgoing Defense Minister, the defense administration is still in the middle and there are still outstanding debts to the Bundeswehr.

“The journey is only beginning, after decades of disinvestment and mistreatment, but we are on the right path. Thanks to your sustained support, we have been able to carry out reforms that seemed impossible for years and restore to military and civilian personnel the pride of belonging to an army that is respected and valued by society, but which was canceled by previous Kirchnerist governments,” he opined. In another section of the letter, Petri Milei (“Dear President”) personally thanked him for “the trust placed in his work,” for “his constant support and for the generosity in examining” his management at the head of the Ministry of Defense.

“I also thank the entire Cabinet that accompanies you, of which I had the honor of being a part. Under your leadership, we form a real team that faces the problems that have persisted for decades, does not throw the ball away, does not make excuses and solves them, thinking about current and future generations, regardless of the political costs that the meanness of a part of the opposition wants to impose on us. They always remind us: we come to change Argentina for good,” he stressed.

“I would also like to acknowledge the commitment and professionalism of the team that accompanied me in the Ministry, the Chiefs of Staff and the individual Armed Forces. Your daily commitment has made it possible to put into action the policies you promoted and consolidate a transformation agenda that lays a solid foundation for the future,” he noted. Regarding the role he must play as a national deputy, Petri stressed that from there he will continue to “defend his government and the millions of Argentines who trust and believe in the final change that we are carrying out.”

“On December 10, I will assume new duties in the Chamber of Deputies, having been elected in the last elections on October 26 by my beloved province of Mendoza, the National Capital of Freedom for its history – cradle of the Andean Army – and for its present. The Argentines have decided not to return and we will honor this mandate,” he explained. “Finally, I thank every officer, non-commissioned officer, soldier and sailor of the three armed forces for their unwavering commitment to the homeland, up to the willingness to give their lives in its defense,” he said.

Meanwhile, he took the opportunity to convey to his successor in office, Lieutenant General Carlos Presti, “the greatest success in deepening the path we started on December 10, 2023.” “I end my term of office with the arrival of the F-16 aircraft, the most important military achievement of the last 40 years, which will defend and protect our skies from any threat from the air, land or sea. The mission is accomplished, Commander-in-Chief: the F-16s have already set foot on our soil and belong to all Argentines,” he stressed.

Finally, he expects to travel to Antarctica this Tuesday to complete his cycle at the Department of Defense. “On December 9, I will travel to Antarctica, where I practically began this administration with you. Argentina will be the freest country in the world under your leadership, and thereby we will cease to be the nation at the end of the world and become the country at the beginning of the world. This principle applies in our beloved Antarctica, where since 1904 soldiers and scientists have created our homeland, allowing our country to be the country with the most bases and the largest projection,” he said.

“I reaffirm my enormous respect, my infinite gratitude and my pride to have accompanied you in your cabinet, as well as my commitment to the ideas of freedom that will make Argentina great again. I greet you with the highest respect. Long live freedom! Long live the homeland! May God bless you and all Argentines!” concluded Petri.