The 1982 Falklands War and a dispute that has never closed

The Falkland Islands, called the Malvinas by Argentines, lie in the South Atlantic, about 500 kilometres off the Argentine coast. They are a British overseas territory, but Argentina has claimed sovereignty over them since 1816, when it inherited control of the archipelago upon gaining independence from Spain.

The United Kingdom occupied the islands in a military operation in 1833 and settled there ever more firmly. Today around 3,500 people live on the islands, most of them of British origin. In a 2013 referendum, islanders voted almost unanimously to remain under British sovereignty.

In 1982 the dispute turned into war. Argentina was then ruled by a military regime led by Leopoldo Galtieri, which also used the claim to the islands to divert attention from the country's economic crisis and from protests against the dictatorship. In the United Kingdom, the Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher was in power; she treated the conflict as a show of strength and emerged from it stronger.

On March 19th a group of Argentine soldiers in civilian clothes landed on South Georgia and raised the Argentine flag. On April 2nd the Argentine army invaded the Falklands-Malvinas and quickly took the capital, Stanley. The UN and the United States called on Argentina to withdraw, without success. On April 5th the United Kingdom responded by sending two aircraft carriers with warplanes and helicopters from the port of Portsmouth, followed by more ships, aircraft and thousands of soldiers.

The conflict and the surrender

The war lasted 74 days and caused 650 deaths among Argentine forces and 255 among British forces. The Argentine army, less well trained and less well equipped, suffered the heavier losses. By late April the United Kingdom had regained control of South Georgia. The conflict took place in the middle of the Cold War: the United Kingdom was a key ally of the United States, while Argentina, though heavily dependent on Washington economically, had increasingly close ties with the Soviet Union. The United States abandoned its neutrality on April 30th, imposing sanctions on Argentina; several European countries had already banned arms sales to the South American country.

In late May the British army launched Operation Sutton, forcing Argentine troops to retreat from the San Carlos area. The war ended on June 14th, 1982, with the British assault on the capital, Stanley, and Argentina's surrender. In the days that followed, Argentine soldiers left the islands and returned home.

More than forty years later, nationalist sentiment over the islands remains very strong in Argentina. The claim to sovereignty still appears on banknotes, in the constitution, and in Argentine films and television series.