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Tue, 08 Sep 2026

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 Argentina to file criminal case against oil company operating in Falklands

The move comes days after President Javier Milei stepped up Argentina's claims of sovereignty over the Falklands.

* Argentine President Javier Milei said that oil companies drilling off the Falklands would face sanctions
* The Argentine government will file criminal charges against Navitas Petroleum, several of its subsidiaries and their executives for operating in seas off the Falkland Islands
* The move is a response to Milei's earlier statement that he would sanction oil companies drilling in the British overseas territory in the south-west Atlantic Ocean
* The UK's Foreign Office Minister Kirsty McNeill said there could be "no doubt" about the British government's commitment to the Falkland Islanders and that the future of the islands is for the Falkland Islanders to determine
* Milei restated his government's position on the territory, saying "the Malvinas are Argentine, historically and legally... there's no debate about that"
* The president described drilling for oil in the archipelago as a "clear and urgent danger" to Argentine sovereignty
* The British government dismissed Milei's speech and stressed that its position on the Falklands was "unwavering"