El Salvador president to visit Argentina this month

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele will visit Buenos Aires in late September and meet his Argentine counterpart Javier Milei, an Argentine government source told Reuters on Thursday.

Bukele and Milei last met in June as the popular but divisive Salvadoran leader inaugurated his second-term in office. The source did not give further details on the visit.

Bukele, 42, a former advertising executive who won widespread popularity for a crackdown on gangs that helped to drastically reduce murder rates in the Central American country, but critics warn of alarming regressions in human rights.

An libertarian economist and political newcomer, Milei assumed the presidency in December. He has pushed harsh austerity measures intended to end Argentina's worst economic crisis in decades, with over half of Argentines living in poverty.

Milei has backed legislation to boost the role of the military in domestic security operations.

(Reporting by Lucila Sigal; Editing by Richard Chang)