Argentine presidents are expected to make the sovereignty claim a central part of their foreign policy. Former President Cristina Kirchner was so zealous about it she went so far as to enact a law requiring all public transport to bear the phrase "Las Islas Malvinas son Argentinas" ("The Malvinas Islands are Argentine"—Malvinas being the Argentine name for the islands) and at one point stated that the islands "constitute a NATO military nuclear base in the South Atlantic." The claim was wholly rejected by the UK… and wholly embraced by @Falklands_utd, which responded with merciless trolling:Argentine special forces spotted in the #Falklands. pic.twitter.com/esy02QWh0H
— Falkland Islands (@falklands_utd) March 29, 2016
Argentina recently intercepted this pic of our "nuclear missiles." -- They turned out to be penguins. #Falklands pic.twitter.com/gp33LhtcGY
— Falkland Islands (@falklands_utd) April 3, 2014
In a bid to repair diplomatic relations with the UK, current President Mauricio Macri has positioned himself as a more amenable party. He still put his foot in his mouth last month when he proclaimed that UK Prime Minister Theresa May had agreed to discuss the islands' sovereignty. Turns out she'd agreed to no such thing. @Falklands_utd did what it does best and threw some extra shade on the embarrassing incident:Is it a compliment or insult that we've been blocked by @CFKArgentina ? #Falklands pic.twitter.com/EYce70GmED
— Falkland Islands (@falklands_utd) April 4, 2014
As is now customary, Argentine media covered the tweet almost as extensively as Macri's blunder. "They made us wait for it, but they finally spoke up as well," an article in popular Argentina daily La Nación began before launching into its own coverage.Local outlets were less jocular when reporting on a perceived threat of imminent conquest: following Brexit—which a majority of islanders voted against, preferring to keep their commercial ties with the EU—@Falklands_utd posted the following:Oh @mauriciomacri - and it was going so well! Now you've cocked it up. How can we trust you? #Falklands
— Falkland Islands (@falklands_utd) September 21, 2016
"Falklands to take control of Argentina after Brexit"
— Falkland Islands (@falklands_utd) June 24, 2016
Then, on June 26, when Argentina suffered a humiliating defeat against Chile in the Copa America final, @Falklands_utd didn't miss a beat:@falklands_utd take control of this ⬇ pic.twitter.com/JkSeGLdQP7
— Bagman (@NOjuegaRiquelme) June 24, 2016
Lol. Never in doubt. Vamos Chile!
— Falkland Islands (@falklands_utd) June 27, 2016
Playing ball, Argentine outlet El Destape ascribed the islanders' jubilance to their need to "celebrate after the Brexit disappointment."At times claimed by the Spanish, French and British, the embattled islands came under Argentine rule in 1820 after the new South American nation secured its independence from Spain. The British then either seized them or took them back, depending on whom you speak to, in 1833. The conflict famously came to a head in 1982, when the Argentine government, then in the hands of a brutal military dictatorship, sent poorly trained and ill-equipped young soldiers to reclaim the islands, resulting in 650 Argentine and 255 British deaths.Today, the endless turf war has found a new theater of hostilities in social media. Thankfully, snark remains (theoretically) less lethal than bullets.Get six of our favorite Motherboard stories every day by signing up for our newsletter.Don't cry for Chile, Argentina.
— Falkland Islands (@falklands_utd) June 27, 2016