Coronavirus

Former minister in Argentina: “Falklands for vaccines”

Pebble Island. Wreckage of an Argentinian jet shot down during the Falklands War in May 1982. Photo: Steve Allen/Shutterstock
Pebble Island. Wreckage of an Argentinian jet shot down during the Falklands War in May 1982. Photo: Steve Allen/Shutterstock

While bashing the Argentinian government’s slow vaccine rollout, opposition figure Patricia Bullrish said her country “should have given the Falklands” to Pfizer in exchange for immunizers.  

Ms. Bullrich, who served as Security Minister under former President Mauricio Macri, was lambasted for bringing up the Islas Malvinas — as Argentina refers to the Falklands — as it remains a sensitive issue for the country. 

The South American nation has always claimed sovereignty over the archipelago, which has been under British rule for almost two centuries. In 1982, the two countries staged a 74-day war after the islands were invaded by Argentinian military forces. In 2013, no less than 92 percent of Falklanders voted to remain a British domain.

Tensions between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the archipelago surfaced as recently as 2015, when former British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon warned lawmakers that Argentina’s attempts to improve its military turned the country into a “very live threat.”