The Spanish ambassador to Buenos Aires has been permanently recalled after Argentine President Javier Milei made a derogatory remark about Begona Gomez, the wife of Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

The VOA reports that the Argentine president made the derogatory comment at a rally in Madrid organised by Vox, a far-right political party.

Explaining the decision to remove the ambassador, Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, told journalists, “We have no interest in nor desire for any escalation, but it’s the government’s obligation to defend the dignity and sovereignty of Spanish institutions, especially when the aggression occurs in the capital of Spain.”

Reacting to the removal, Mr Milei said, “What’s happening is literally a folly typical of an arrogant socialist, who personally took a comment that didn’t contain any names as an allusion and nonsensically decided to go for a diplomatic escalation, so it’s Pedro Sanchez’s problem.”

Mrs Gomez had been under investigation after an activist group, Manos Limpias, had accused her of using her influence to obtain sponsors to pay for a university course.

Spanish companies are Argentina’s second largest investors after those of the United States, and the diplomatic row between both countries could affect Spanish companies that invest $15 billion a year in Argentina.