Argentina seeks sanctions against oil firms drilling near disputed Falkland Islands

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Argentine government has begun a process of sanctioning many foreign companies accusing them of illegally drilling oil in conflicted areas near the UK-controlled Falkland Islands, which also claims sovereignty.

State Secretary of Energy Dario Martinez called reporters Wednesday (7) that he would sanction UK-based Chrysaor Holdings, Harbor Energy, and Israeli company Navitas Petroleum, previously sanctioned between 2011 and 2015. He said he would add another eight companies.

Argentina and Britain have long argued over sovereignty of the Falkland Islands, which Argentina calls the Malvinas. The conflict caused a short war in 1982, killing 255 British troops and about 650 Argentine soldiers.

“Companies are not licensed and do not require any kind of permit,” Martinez said in a press conference, claiming they were operating with illegal permission from “illegal authorities” in the Falkland Islands.

Argentina’s centre-left government has increased its rhetoric over the disputed islands, about 650 km (403.89 miles) from the country’s southeastern coast and home to about 2,600 people, mostly of British descent.

The government has appointed a Minister of the Malvinas and said it would redraw the map to emphasize Argentine sovereignty in school and lobbying activities at the United Nations.