Falkland Islanders say Milei is ‘playing Malvinas card’ as they face intimidation in the run-up to Argentine elections

Falklands resident Jimmy Curtis has said the Argentine president is resorting to “playing the Malvinas card” as he seeks to counter his falling popularity.

Speaking on GB News, he said: “There’s been intimidation for the last four decades, to be honest, and it’s ramped up a little with the oil industry coming around and the elections coming up in Argentina.

“There’s been quite a lot of stuff, threats of legal action against oil companies. There’s been harassment of people who live here, attacks on social media; yeah, it’s been quite a lot.

“We send delegations over to the various parties’ conferences, and I think we’re universally supported across the board by all the political parties to be fair, so that gives us a lot of reassurance and helps people, you know, stay fairly calm.

“We’ve got complete confidence in the military capability that is here. You know, it’s a deterrent as much as anything.

“During the war, one of their ships was sunk by a submarine, and the rest of their navy went back into port and never came out again. And so it’s 300 miles of sea for them to cross to get here.

“We’ve got the latest aircraft here. I think we’re safe. Everybody else feels pretty safe too, I think.

“It’s standard procedure. We’ve seen it, you know, every single election for the last 40 years. It’s nothing new. Generally, he’s worked on the economy and left us alone for most of his time but popularity is a bit low, and so he’s pulled out the Malvinas card again, like they all do.”