Argentina's President Milei draws pushback over his Falklands War speech

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei on Wednesday marked the anniversary of his nation’s failed 1982 attempt to forcibly wrest the Falkland Islands from Britain by expressing hope that the island's residents may one day choose to be Argentine rather than British.

Milei’s speech came as a surprise to many in Argentina, which still claims sovereignty over the British-controlled archipelago that it calls Las Malvinas despite the British victory. His comments were criticized as overly conciliatory by political rivals who argue that the island's residents have no right to self-determination because they are not an Indigenous people.

“We hope for the Malvinenses (Falkland Islanders) to one day decide to vote for us with their feet,” Milei said at a ceremony commemorating Argentina's 74-day war over the South Atlantic territory that killed 649 Argentine service members and 255 British soldiers.

“That’s why we seek to be a power, to the point that (the islanders) prefer to be Argentine.”

The island’s roughly 3,000 residents most recently voted to remain a British overseas territory in a 2013 referendum — a result rejected by then-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, a left-leaning populist who made Argentina’s claims to Las Malvinas a centerpiece of her foreign policy.

As president and more recently vice-president over the last decade, Kirchner repeatedly condemned U.K. control over the islands as a colonial holdover and sought to press Britain to enter talks about the future of the territory that it has ruled since 1833.

On Wednesday, Kirchner and her political allies — ideological opponents of the right-wing president — castigated Milei for his accommodating approach to Britain.

“There is no self-determination after the occupation and expulsion," former Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero wrote on social media platform X in reaction to Milei's speech, accusing him of “surrendering” the nationalistic claims for which Argentines fought and died.

Even politicians from the center-right PRO party expressed confusion over Milei's stance on an issue that long has forged a unifying sense of Argentine patriotism.

During Milei's 2023 presidential campaign, the former TV pundit set off a firestorm by admitting that he idolized fellow libertarian Margaret Thatcher, the U.K. prime minister who dispatched troops to retake the Falklands after Argentina's waning military dictatorship mounted its invasion.

Eager to quiet mounting controversy on Wednesday, Cabinet officials insisted that Milei's remarks constituted no change of policy.

“Milei wasn't just referring to self-determination, he was saying that we will not cease efforts at any table or forum,” Defense Minister Luis Petri told local journalists who peppered him with questions from the memorial plaza after Milei's speech.

The war's 43rd anniversary also exposed tensions within the highest rungs of government. Victoria Villarruel, Milei's vice-president and a fiery advocate for Argentina’s military whose father fought in the 1982 war, flew over 2,800 kilometers (1,700) miles to Argentina's chilly southernmost coast on Wednesday to lead a separate memorial ceremony.

Villarruel took the stage in Ushuaia — from which Argentine troops first set off to recapture the islands — to shouts of “Long live the homeland!" shortly after a local veteran affairs official delivered a speech condemning Milei’s remarks on self-determination.

“Our country must define a clear and unambiguous policy of national defense,” Villarruel said, her voice rising.

War veterans attend a ceremony commemorating the 43rd anniversary of the conflict between Argentina and Great Britain over the Falkland Islands, known as the Malvinas Islands, at a war memorial in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Government officials, from left, Argentine Justice Minister Mariano Cuneo Libarona, Security Minister Patricia Bullrich and Cabinet Chief Guillermo Francos stand by during the playing of the national anthem at a ceremony commemorating the 43rd anniversary of the conflict between Argentina and Great Britain over the Falkland Islands, known as the Malvinas Islands, at a war memorial in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

The shape of the Falkland Islands, known as the Malvinas Islands, decorates a war memorial where a soldier stands by during a ceremony commemorating the 43rd anniversary of the conflict over the islands between Argentina and Great Britain, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Military members stand at a war memorial for a ceremony commemorating the 43rd anniversary of the conflict between Argentina and Great Britain over the Falkland Islands, known as the Malvinas Islands, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Argentine President Javier Milei speaks during a ceremony commemorating the 43rd anniversary of the conflict between Argentina and Great Britain over the Falkland Islands, known as the Malvinas Islands, at a war memorial in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Asian markets plunged on Monday following last week's two-day meltdown on Wall Street, and President Donald Trump said he won't back down on the sweeping new tariffs he announced on April 2 that have roiled global trade.

Countries are scrambling to figure out how to respond to the tariffs, with China and others retaliating quickly.

Trump’s tariff blitz fulfilled a key campaign promise as he acted without Congress to redraw the rules of the international trading system. It was a move decades in the making for Trump, who has long denounced foreign trade deals as unfair to the U.S.

The higher rates are set to be collected beginning Wednesday, ushering in a new era of economic uncertainty with no clear end in sight.

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President Donald Trump said Sunday that he won’t back down on his sweeping tariffs on imports from most of the world unless countries even out their trade with the U.S., digging in on his plans to implement the taxes that have sent financial markets reeling, raised fears of a recession and upended the global trading system.

Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said he didn’t want global markets to fall, but also that he wasn’t concerned about the massive sell-off either, adding, “sometimes you have to take medicine to fix something.”

His comments came as global financial markets appeared on track to continue sharp declines once trading resumes Monday, and after Trump’s aides sought to soothe market concerns by saying more than 50 nations had reached out about launching negotiations to lift the tariffs.

“I spoke to a lot of leaders, European, Asian, from all over the world,” Trump said. “They’re dying to make a deal. And I said, we’re not going to have deficits with your country. We’re not going to do that, because to me a deficit is a loss. We’re going to have surpluses or at worst, going to be breaking even.”

Asian markets plunged on Monday following last week’s two-day meltdown on Wall Street, and U.S. President Donald Trump said he won’t back down on his sweeping tariffs on imports from most of the world unless countries even out their trade with the U.S.

Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index lost nearly 8% shortly after the market opened on Monday. By midday, it was down 6%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped 9.4%, while the Shanghai Composite index was down 6.2%, and South Korea’s Kospi lost 4.1%.

U.S. futures also signaled further weakness.

Market observers expect investors will face more wild swings in the days and weeks to come, with a short-term resolution to the trade war appearing unlikely.

Shipping containers are stored at Bensenville intermodal terminal in Franklin Park, Ill., Sunday, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the KEB Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)