Why the US Is Eyeing Greenland After Venezuela

COPENHAGEN: The sudden and aggressive focus on Greenland’s sovereignty is not happening in a vacuum. Geopolitical analysts point to the recent U.S. military intervention in Venezuela as the catalyst for a new, more muscular American foreign policy that treats the Western Hemisphere as a private sphere of influence.

Fears of a military annexation were ignited by a social media post from Katie Miller—wife of senior Trump aide Stephen Miller—featuring a map of Greenland draped in the stars and stripes with the single-word caption: “SOON.”

This follows the January 3rd raid on Caracas, where U.S. elite troops seized President Nicolás Maduro. Following that operation, President Trump announced that the U.S. would “run” Venezuela and confirmed a return to a policy of U.S. supremacy in the region—effectively a modern-day invocation of the 1823 Monroe Doctrine.

Why Greenland? The White House has been transparent about two primary motivations:

Control of the Arctic is vital for missile defense and monitoring Russian and Chinese naval movements.

Greenland is home to vast, untapped deposits of rare-earth minerals critical to the high-tech and defense sectors.

While the U.S. frames the move as a security necessity, the 57,000 residents of Greenland are largely opposed. While there is a strong local movement for eventual independence from Denmark, recent polls show “overwhelming opposition” to becoming an American territory.

The appointment of a special U.S. envoy to Greenland has already caused outrage in Copenhagen. By bypassing traditional diplomatic channels and hinting at military solutions, the U.S. is testing the limits of European loyalty. As the European “Big Six” stand with Denmark, the world watches to see if the Arctic will become the next theater for the “unilateral, illegal, and bullying acts” recently condemned by the international community at the UN.