Vice-President Victoria Villarruel, a hardline conservative from a military family, has clashed with President Javier Milei previously. Photograph: Alejandro Pagni/AFP/Getty Images
Argentina’s Vice President Victoria Villarruel called the English “usurping pirates” ahead of Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final between the two countries’ teams.
“Tomorrow we play against the usurping pirates. It’s not just another match,” Villarruel said in a post on X.
The iconic match will take place against the backdrop of a lingering sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands, known in Spanish as the Malvinas, in the South Atlantic Ocean.
“I’m not going to be politically correct or keep a cool head — it’s always something more against the English,” Villarruel wrote.
