From praising Thatcher to demanding sovereignty: Milei’s shift on the Falklands

Javier Milei’s position on the Falkland Islands has taken a sharp turn. The Argentine president once called Margaret Thatcher brilliant. He now says British companies involved in projects on the islands without Argentine authorization will be barred from operating in Argentina.

“We will proceed to disqualify from operating in Argentine territory the companies involved, directly or indirectly, in projects on the Falkland Islands without Argentine authorization,” Milei said in a national address on Thursday. He also announced plans to build a naval base in Tierra del Fuego, the province Argentina says includes the islands.

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We will proceed to disqualify from operating in Argentine territory the companies involved, directly or indirectly, in projects on the Falkland Islands without Argentine authorization.

The change contrasts with Milei’s admiration for Thatcher before he became president in December 2023. In a BBC interview in May 2024, he said, “Criticizing someone because of their nationality or race shows enormous intellectual weakness. I have heard many of Margaret Thatcher’s speeches. She was brilliant.”

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Criticizing someone because of their nationality or race shows enormous intellectual weakness. I have heard many of Margaret Thatcher’s speeches. She was brilliant.

Four months later, Milei’s government reached an agreement with the United Kingdom on humanitarian issues, fishing and connectivity under a sovereignty safeguard formula. Argentina’s opposition criticized the deal, saying it weakened the country’s decades-old claim before international bodies including the United Nations.

On April 2, 2025, marking another anniversary of the war, Milei said his government wanted “to make Argentina a power” so that the inhabitants of the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands would “prefer to be Argentines.” In January 2026, Falklands veterans filed a criminal complaint against him over comments to The Telegraph that the territory should return to Argentina only through negotiation and if the islanders wanted it.

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To make Argentina a power

The dispute also surfaced around the 2026 World Cup semifinal between England and Argentina, which Argentina won. Before the match, Argentina’s National Security Ministry urged fans not to bring symbols that could inflame tensions, but objects were thrown onto the pitch from the stands.

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Prefer to be Argentines.