Argentina’s President Javier Milei, a libertarian who has long cited former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher as one of his political role models, has recently increased his public tone regarding the Falklands, which contrasts with the moderate approach he has previously taken in seeking closer ties with the West.
Unlike his left-wing predecessors, who routinely reaffirmed Argentina’s claim to sovereignty over the South Atlantic islands — known among the British as Falkland and in Argentina as Las Malvinas — Milei, who called for bilateral negotiations with the United Kingdom, was criticized for not emphasizing the issue enough.
However, on Friday, hours after Reuters exclusively reported that an internal Pentagon email suggested reviewing the US position on the disputed archipelago in retaliation for the UK’s stance on the war against Iran, Milei made an inflammatory post on X, saying that the Falklands ‘was, is and always will be Argentine’.
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Argentina has long claimed that it inherited the islands from Spain after its independence in 1816 and that the United Kingdom took control in 1833 through an illegal colonial act. The United Kingdom, under Thatcher, and Argentina fought a brief war over the islands in 1982, in which 649 Argentine and 255 British soldiers died, after Argentina invaded the islands in a failed attempt to take them.
Four decades later, the islands still arouse raw emotion in Argentina, where the memory of the war is painted on the walls of the city of Buenos Aires like portraits of fallen heroes and where some sports clubs do not accept clothing with the British flag. A national holiday marks the anniversary of the war.
The new tension between the US and the UK offers Milei a potential rallying cry, as his approval ratings fall to their lowest levels, pressured by rising monthly inflation and corruption scandals, making the cause one that the president could turn to in an attempt to increase his popularity, according to experts.
“The fight for the Falklands is a national obsession in Argentina, and there is no benefit in downplaying it,” said Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin America program at the Stimson Center in Washington. ‘Although Milei is not known for pleasing his opponents, he may find the Falklands an irresistible opportunity to boost his popularity.’
A spokesperson for Milei did not respond to a request for comment.
‘Progress like never before’
Milei had previously raised doubts about his determination regarding the islands. During his presidential campaign, he praised fellow libertarian Thatcher, who ordered the military operation to retake the Falklands, as one of the ‘greatest leaders in the world’, drawing condemnation from veterans who said he showed no respect for his fallen comrades.
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Milei criticized politicians who ‘beat their chest’ about sovereignty without results in an interview with the BBC in 2024. He later provoked backlash by saying that Argentina wants islanders to ‘one day decide to vote for us’, echoing the UK’s view that residents have the right to self-determination. In 2013, the island’s inhabitants voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to remain under British rule.
Last week, however, he said in an interview with a streaming platform that Argentina was ‘progressing like never before’ on the island issue.
Guillermo Carmona, former secretary of Argentina’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs office for the Falklands, Antarctica and South Atlantic during the previous center-left government, said it is now time for Argentina to ‘take advantage of the fissures that are being produced’.
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Traditionally, the US has avoided taking sides on the sovereignty of the islands, but recognizes that they are administered by the United Kingdom.
Under President Donald Trump, who has referred to Milei as his ‘favorite president’, the US could have participated as a third party in any negotiations between Argentina and the UK, but according to Gedan, the leaked Pentagon letter makes that possibility less likely now that the US has shown its hand by potentially favoring Argentina.
For now, despite the political buzz, the status quo is unlikely to change, analysts said.
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‘It is difficult for me to think that the United States can force the United Kingdom to modify its position if they change their own position, since the United Kingdom is a strategic ally of the US,’ said Argentine historian Federico Lorenz.
