The United States' recent military bombardment of Venezuela and the capture of its president, Nicolás Maduro, has triggered alarm over potential American designs on Greenland, a self-governing Danish territory. Supporters of Donald Trump have openly celebrated the prospect of annexing the mineral-rich Arctic island in the wake of the South American intervention.
Maga Provocation and Diplomatic Rebuttal
Just hours after the operation in Venezuela, Katie Miller, a right-wing podcaster and wife of Trump's senior aide Stephen Miller, posted a map of Greenland covered by the American flag on X with the caption "SOON." This explicit threat to a fellow Nato member prompted an immediate and firm response from Denmark.
Copenhagen's ambassador to the US, Jesper Møller Sørensen, reposted the image with a pointed message. He issued a "friendly reminder" of the deep defence alliance between the two nations, stressing that US security is intertwined with that of Denmark and Greenland. He highlighted Denmark's increased 2025 defence budget of $13.7 billion (£10.2bn), noting funds are available for Arctic security. He concluded unequivocally: "And yes, we expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark."
Trump's Greenland Envoy and Strategic Ambitions
The incident is not an isolated one. President Trump recently appointed Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as a special envoy to Greenland. Landry, who thanked Trump for the "volunteer position to make Greenland a part of the US," later praised the toppling of Maduro, linking it to the war on drugs.
Trump himself has repeatedly refused to rule out action to acquire Greenland, citing its strategic importance for international security and mineral wealth. In a May interview with NBC, he stated, "I don't rule it out. I don't say I'm going to do it, but I don't rule out anything... We need Greenland very badly." The territory hosts the US's northernmost military base at Pituffik, which Vice-President JD Vance toured with his wife Usha in March last year.
Regional Backlash and Security Reassessment
This persistent sabre-rattling has caused profound disquiet. In a significant shift, the Danish Defence Intelligence Service last month listed the US as a security risk. The prime ministers of Denmark and Greenland, Mette Frederiksen and Jens-Frederik Nielsen, jointly reaffirmed that "You cannot annex other countries," emphasising the sovereignty of states under international law.
Public opinion in Greenland is firmly against becoming American. A January poll showed that while a vast majority of the island's 57,000 inhabitants desire independence from Denmark, they do not wish to join the US. Analysts are now taking the threat more seriously. Jennifer Kavanagh of the thinktank Defense Priorities noted that deploying US troops to Greenland would be militarily straightforward, asking, "it's not clear to me who could do anything about it."
The situation underscores how Trump's aggressive foreign policy, exemplified by the Venezuela attack, is destabilising traditional alliances and raising fears of territorial expansion in the strategically vital Arctic, where the US, Russia, and China are vying for influence.
