The image was revealing: Donald Trump and Keir Starmer , the British prime minister, smilingly announced a new US-UK trade deal last week, cutting tariffs in key sectors such as cars and agriculture. Starmer called it a "historic day," evoking the spirit of Winston Churchill . Trump, in a gesture of cultural complicity, joked about the character of James Bond and his Aston Martin, assuring him that the fictional spy "has nothing to worry about."
The message is clear: this was not just an economic transaction, but the reaffirmation of a strategic alliance that has defined the global order for more than 200 years.
But across the Atlantic, in Argentina, President Javier Milei seems determined to ignore this reality. In an April interview with journalist Alejandro Fantino , he stated that his government is working on the "diplomatic recovery" of the Malvinas, and that the first step was the event in Ushuaia with the head of the U.S. Southern Command, Laura Richardson , where the establishment of a naval base with American support was announced . "My ally is the United States," Milei declared, as if that were enough to change the course of history .
The contradiction is evident. The United States and the United Kingdom not only share deep economic ties (they are each other's largest investors in sectors such as defense, technology, and energy), but are indivisible military allies. They both lead NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, are members of the exclusive Five Eyes intelligence pact, and have fought together in every major conflict of the last century. When Argentina's dictatorial government attempted the madcap recapture of the Malvinas Islands by force in 1982, Washington—despite being theoretically obligated by the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (TIAR) to support Buenos Aires—did not hesitate to back London with intelligence, logistics, and key supplies.
Today, Milei's speech seems to ignore that lesson . Her vice president, Victoria Villarruel, insists on "hemispheric unity" against "extracontinental powers." (clearly referring to the United Kingdom), but the rhetoric clashes with the facts: the new Trump-Starmer agreement not only facilitates trade, but also strengthens defense cooperation, just as London increases its military presence on the islands .
While Argentina is offering the US a base in Ushuaia as a gesture of alignment, the British remain the preferred supplier of US military technology, from its F-35 aircraft to its missile systems.
Can Argentina really expect Washington to choose its cause over London's? History suggests not. US support for Argentina's claim has never gone beyond ambiguous statements, while its support for the United Kingdom is concrete and multifaceted. The base in Ushuaia, at best, will serve to direct its Antarctic projects, not to pressure the British.
Milei, obsessed with his ideological alignment with Trump, seems to confuse sympathy with strategy . But in Washington, the priorities are clear: partners are those who add real power, not those who ask for help . And on that chessboard, the United Kingdom remains, by far, the most valuable piece. The mirage of an Argentine-US alliance against London is nothing more than that: a mirage.
