Donald Trump is using the Falklands as a political ‘pawn’ to punish Britain over a failure to back his war with Iran, the leader of the islands’ government has said.
Dr Andrea Clausen claimed local residents felt insulted by Washington and Buenos Aires’ political ‘games’ in recent weeks over the future of the isolated territory.
It comes after a leaked internal memo last month suggested that the US would ‘review’ the UK’s claim of sovereignty on the South Atlantic island, after a perceived lack of support for the Trump administration’s military campaign in Iran.
While US Secretary of State Marco Rubio dismissed the leak as ‘just an email’, downplaying the reaction as ‘overexcited’, the proposal emboldened Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei.
Following news of the memo, Milei shot off a fiery post on X, saying the islands – known in Argentina as Las Malvinas – ‘were, are and will always be Argentine’.
‘We are doing everything humanly possible so that the Argentine Malvinas, the islands, the entire territory return to the hands of Argentina,’ he said in a radio interview.
His deputy, Victoria Villarruel, went a step further, insisting all Britons living on the island should ‘go back to England’.
Clausen, the chief executive of the Falkland Islands government, described the comments last month as ‘very frustrating’ and ‘belittling’ towards the Falklands, completely sidelining the will of the islanders to determine their own fate.
US President Donald Trump is using the Falklands as a political ‘pawn’ to punish Britain over a failure to back his war with Iran , the leader of the islands’ government has said
Royal Marine Peter Robinson carrying the Union Jack as he marched towards Stanley in the final hours of the Falklands War in June 1982
Would YOU back military action if Argentina tried to seize the Falklands?
‘There are a lot of big games being played by a lot of people, and we might be a very useful pawn for somebody,’ she told The Telegraph.
‘As a nation, we are fundamentally resilient, vociferous, quite political, and fiercely independent, but very, very British… We’ve been British since 1833 – before Argentina existed, just so we’re clear.’
Britain and Argentina fought a brief war in 1982 over the islands after Argentina made a failed bid to take them. Some 650 Argentine soldiers and 255 British troops died before Argentina surrendered.
The leaked email, apparently drafted by a junior advisor, claimed the US could review its position on Britain’s claim to ‘imperial possessions’, after Prime Minister Keir Starmer refused US jets access to Diego Garcia and mainland bases at the start of the Iran war.
He later agreed to allow defensive missions aimed at protecting residents of the region, including British citizens, amid Iranian retaliation.
Last week one of Washington’s naval battle groups, led by the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, was spotted sailing alongside Argentine warships in the South Atlantic.
The US military claimed the naval encounter was all part of a ‘bilateral engagement’ between the two nations.
Falklands residents have been left worried by the display of force in the region, fearing that Argentina is seeking to rearm, having recently signed a multi-million-pound deal to buy F-16 fighter jets.
Jack Ford, who has served as a member of the Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly for Camp since 2023, said there was now a ‘nervousness’ among locals over the sabre rattling from Argentina.
‘There is still a threat hanging over us all the time which isn’t going to go away anytime soon,’ the 27-year-old politician told the newspaper.
He added that Milei’s government had become obstructive and was increasingly trying to make things more difficult for the territory and its population of 3,600 inhabitants.
‘We’re a small democratic, peaceful nation and are being bullied by a much larger nation next door,’ he said.
Downing Street insisted the sovereignty of the islands is ‘not in question’ in response to reports of the leaked Pentagon memo.
‘Sovereignty rests with the UK and the islands’ right to self-determination is paramount. It’s been our consistent position and will remain the case,’ a spokesperson said.
But Argentina was immediately upbeat about the proposal, calling for renewed talks over the future of the Falklands after Washington suggested it could support its claims of sovereignty.
Vice-president Villarruel insisted: ‘The discussion over the sovereignty of our islands is between states, therefore the United Kingdom must discuss bilaterally with Argentina the claim that we maintain for legal, historical, and geographical reasons.’
Pablo Quirno, the Argentine foreign minister, demanded an end to British ‘colonialism’ and new bilateral negotiations to build a ‘peaceful and definitive solution’.
In a March 2013 referendum on the status of the Falkland Islands, 99.8 per cent of the islanders voted in favour of remaining a British overseas territory.
Argentina views the vote as a sham, however.
Clausen – who has a framed copy of Argentina’s surrender letter in her office – rejected the comments, accusing politicians in Buenos Aires of ignoring the views of the islands’ inhabitants.
‘It demonstrates a complete lack of respect and understanding for another people on this planet who are just quietly trying to get on, themselves, develop their own economy, look after their own people and make the Falklands a great place to be and to live,’ she said.
‘Sadly, we all know the games that people like to play and we just have to navigate our way through that and try not to get dragged into it as much as possible,’ she added.
Only one in ten young people in Britain think it’s ‘very important’ for the Falkland Islands to remain British, a new poll has shown.
Voters under 25 were less likely than older people to consider it necessary for the UK to retain sovereignty over islands, the survey by More in Common found.
In the poll, which surveyed 2,041 British adults, only nine per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds felt it was ‘very important’ that the Falklands remained British.
This was in comparison to 29 per cent of all Britons who responded with the same rating.
Meanwhile, just 19 per cent of under 25s said it was ‘quite important’ that the Falklands remain under UK ownership, compared to 22 per cent of all voters.
The survey by More in Common also found that 56 per cent of the British public would be in favour of military action if Argentina tried to seize the islands.
