Argentina launches criminal charges against energy company operating in the Falkland Islands

Argentina's government said on Monday it will file criminal charges against energy company Navitas Petroleum and its executives for operating in the Falkland Islands.The move follows remarks on Friday by Argentine President Javier Milei, who vowed to sanction oil companies drilling in the British overseas territory as he stepped up the South American nation's sovereignty claims.According to a statement from the presidency, Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno will file the criminal complaint against several Navitas subsidiaries and partners operating in the territory, along with their corporate directors.The government alleges the firms violated Argentine law by holding hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation licenses issued by the United Kingdom in the North Falkland Basin.Milei last week singled out the Sea Lion offshore oil project as he announced measures targeting companies involved in Falklands oil and gas activities, with penalties potentially extending to shareholders, directors, and suppliers.The Sea Lion field is operated by Tel Aviv-listed Navitas Petroleum, which holds a 65 per cent stake.Gideon Tadmor, a prominent figure in Israel's energy sector and the company's chairman, holds about 9 per cent of its shares, according to LSEG data. Milei told his nation that US President Donald Trump was helping bring 'winds of change' favourable to his Falklands claim Milei chose to be flanked by his own cabinet as he said that Argentina would use 'all the tools of the state: diplomatic, economic, judicial and legal' to impede drilling The islands have remained a bitter point of contention since Argentina's 1982 invasionIn his speech last week, Milei insisted his country would 'prevail' and reclaim the British territory.Making a renewed sovereignty claim, Milei said the people of the Falklands have no right to self-determination before his national spy agency gave a sinister online warning that they are 'watching' the islands.In his sombre address from the presidential palace in Buenos Aires, the firebrand leader, flanked by his cabinet, declared: 'The islands are ours, by history and by right, and they were taken from us.'Milei told his nation that US President Donald Trump was helping bring 'winds of change' favourable to his Falklands claim after the US President hinted he would not back Britain if Argentina invaded again because Sir Keir Starmer failed to support his war with Iran.Milei, who once praised Margaret Thatcher as one of 'the great leaders in the history of humanity', said that Britain is 'on a path of decline', beset by 'multiple crises' including social, economic and immigration problems.'In the world, the winds are blowing favourably for our claim right now. President Trump announced that the US is re-evaluating its historic position regarding the Malvinas', he said.Milei, who is a year away from an election and tanking in the polls, said Argentina needs to 'recover these islands' and would use 'all the tools of the state: diplomatic, economic, judicial and legal' to impede drilling in the Sea Lion oilfield, which holds 1.7 billion barrels of oil.He did not mention military action, but announced his government would issue an immediate emergency decree to build a naval base on Tierra del Fuego, the Argentine coastline closest to the Falklands, which have been in British hands for centuries.'If we do not act swiftly, in a few months they will have the material capacity to access the oil that lies underneath our sea. Something that has never happened before,' he said.'The Falklands are our future - we need to recover these islands. There is no other path forward. It is the best way of paying tribute to those who sacrificed their lives for this cause. It is our obligation as a nation to honour their memory.'Milei's speech came at a time when his own country is suffering a decline in manufacturing, major industrial job losses and mounting household debt. The islands have remained a bitter point of contention since Argentina's 1982 invasion, which prompted Britain to send a task force 8,000 miles to retake them. A total of 907 people were killed in the conflict, including 255 British servicemen.Defence Secretary Wes Streeting hit back by insisting Britain's commitment to the Falklands is 'absolute and unshakeable' amid ongoing concerns about the country's ability to defend the islands as it did in 1982.Streeting said: 'Milei's statement overnight tells us more about domestic politics in Argentina than it does about the Falkland Islands. The Falklands are British because Falkland Islanders choose to be British. Our commitment to the Falklands is absolute and unshakeable.'Senior minister and Burnham ally Lucy Powell said Argentina's president was 'simply posturing' ahead of his country's elections. But former Foreign Office chief Lord McDonald told the BBC that Labour should review Britain's Falklands policy and open diplomatic talks with Argentina over the islands' future, citing the cost of defending them and their distance from the UK.Reform UK's Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said: 'The sacrifice of our Falklands veterans is set to be betrayed. Why? 'The Argentinians have taken one look at Burnham and Streeting and worked out they're a pair of simps, too weak to defend our islands. What are they going to do? Flutter their eyelashes at Milei?'Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch blamed Argentina's threats on the Government's plans to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.She said: 'Javier Milei claims to admire Margaret Thatcher, but forgets this lesson: Britain does not surrender to bullies. If he wants a stronger Argentina, he should build its economy, not threaten others.'But there's also a lesson here for our sleepy Labour government. The madness of surrendering the Chagos Islands means other countries are now trying their luck. If we do not defend our own interests, whether on energy or territory, others will happily exploit that weakness.'Falklands veteran Simon Weston has called on the Prime Minister to immediately 'speak to Trump and reaffirm that we are not even going to discuss the sovereignty of the islands', adding: 'We've had the controversy over Chagos, let's not go down that road again.'He accused Trump of throwing a 'hissy fit' and said that Milei is 'not going to threaten the islands physically' because most of Argentina's navy is 'where we left it, at the bottom of the sea'.