After the intervention in Venezuela, Donald Trump's Government is now targeting Greenland, arguing that its "acquisition" is a "national security priority" and is vital to deter US enemies in the Arctic region. The ambition of Washington, which warned that it does not rule out the military option to achieve control of the Danish island, renewed tensions in Denmark and Europe. What is its strategic importance and why is this territory so coveted by Trump?

First modification: 01/07/2026 - 00:04

Donald Trump does not give up his ambition to obtain control of Greenland to shore it up as a strategic center of the United States.

"It's very strategic right now. Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships everywhere," Trump said this week. “We need Greenland from a national security point of view, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”

Trump even mocked Denmark's national security measures on Jan. 4, claiming the Danes added “one more dog sled” to the island's arsenal.

The search for control of this Arctic territory, where there is growing interest on the part of Russia and China, two of Washington's main rivals, was renewed after the arrest, on January 3, of President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas by US forces. But, this is not a new greed.

Read alsoTrump's regional threats intensify, after the US attack on Venezuela

In the crosshairs of the US

Throughout history, the US has repeatedly expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, the largest island in the world and which has been under the rule of Denmark for 600 years. In fact, after World War II, the North American country offered 100 million dollars in gold to buy it.

But, it has been with Trump, who has threatened to annex the Danish island by pointing out it as a national security need for his country, that fears in Denmark and Europe have increased.

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Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen maintained this week that the US “has no right to annex” the territory. He also assured that Denmark already provides the United States – both part of NATO – with vast access to Greenland through security pacts.

“I strongly urge the United States to stop threatening a historically close ally and another country and people who have made it very clear that they are not for sale,” Frederiksen said.

Why Greenland? It is the largest island in the world and its capital, Nuuk, is closer to New York than the Danish capital, Copenhagen. It has 57,000 inhabitants and plays a determining role in the climate crisis that affects the entire planet.

“Greenland is like an open refrigerator door to a warming world, and it is in a region that is warming four times faster than the rest of the world.” This is how David Holland, a climate scientist at New York University, has described Greenland, a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark that the expert considers fundamental for geopolitical and geoeconomic competition in several aspects.

Donald Trump, who returned to the White House in January 2025, had already assured, even before starting his second term, that he did not rule out using military or economic actions against Denmark to make Greenland controlled by the United States.

And his controversial ambition stoked fears in Europe after his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., made a private visit to the resource-rich island a year ago.

Read alsoTrump reaffirms that the United States "needs" Greenland for its "security"

Minerals, oil, ice... What makes Greenland so attractive?

Faced with Trump's ambitions, Geoff Dabelko, professor of Security and Environment at Ohio University, explained at the time that Greenland is a place where the climate crisis, valuable resources, tense geopolitics and new trade patterns intersect.

Indeed, within it lie billions of barrels of untapped oil and a vast supply of natural gas. At the end of 2020, however, the Danish Government suspended offshore oil exploitation in this territory for environmental reasons.

A 2023 study showed that 25 of the 34 minerals considered "critical raw materials" by the European Commission were found in Greenland. For example, materials used in batteries, such as graphite and lithium, and others such as uranium.

It is also rich in valuable rare earth minerals needed for the telecommunications industry, electric vehicles and wind turbines. This type of mineral is also being supplied by China, so other countries see it as an alternative source.

Climate scientist Eric Rignot, of the University of California, Irvine, believes, however, that “more than oil, gas or minerals, there is ice, a 'ridiculous' amount.”

If that ice melts, it would reshape the coasts of the entire world, as it has enough that, if everything melted, the world's seas would rise by 7.4 meters. Since 1992, however, it has lost around 182 billion tons on average each year.

Read alsoGreenland, Canada or the Panama Canal: a bet by Trump to reform the map?

What is Donald Trump's particular interest?

Trump's statements from a year ago and those he made after the military operation in Venezuela, in which US forces captured President Nicolás Maduro on January 3 and took him to the US, are not the first referring to his interest in the island.

In 2019, in his first term, the Republican expressed his intentions to Denmark, a former ally of Washington and a founding member of NATO, which hosts a large US military base. But he was rejected.

Now, both Danes and Greenlanders have expressed annoyance over a post by Katie Miller, a former Trump administration official, in which she shows an illustrated map of Greenland in the colors of the American flag next to the word: “Soon.”

In addition to its natural resources, Greenland has strategic importance for the US Army and its ballistic missile early warning system, since the shortest route from Europe to North America passes through the Arctic island.

The United States has expressed interest in expanding its military presence, including installing radars there to monitor the waters between the island, Iceland and the United Kingdom, which are a gateway for Russian navy ships and nuclear submarines.

Read alsoNew friction between Denmark and the US. US for Greenland: Why is Trump interested in the territory?

With AP and Reuters

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