Greenland

Denmark’s foreign minister has summoned the top US diplomat in Copenhagen, following a report that American citizens have been conducting covert operations in Greenland.

Denmark’s public broadcaster DR quoted sources as saying the aim was to infiltrate Greenland’s society and promote its secession from Denmark to the US, although it was unable to clarify who the men were working for.

Danish intelligence warned Greenland was being targeted by “various kinds of influence campaigns”.

Pete Hegseth revealed the Pentagon has drafted plans to take Greenland and Panama “by force if necessary”.

The defence secretary let slip the existence of the contingency plans during a heated exchange with Democrat Representative Adam Smith.

During a congressional hearing on Thursday, Mr Smith asked Mr Hegseth if it is “the policy of the department of defence that we need to be prepared to take Greenland and Panama by force if necessary”.

The U.S. is stepping up its intelligence-gathering efforts regarding Greenland, drawing America’s spying apparatus into President Trump’s campaign to take over the island, according to two people familiar with the effort.

Several high-ranking officials under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard issued a “collection emphasis message” to intelligence-agency heads last week. They were directed to learn more about Greenland’s independence movement and attitudes on American resource extraction on the island.

It is the offer that Greenland cannot refuse — or will be too scared to say no to.

Donald Trump is reportedly costing up the price of taking over Greenland and planning to offer more cash than Denmark.

White House advisers are said to be working on an estimate of what it would cost to provide government services for the 58,000 residents on the autonomous territory within Denmark’s kingdom.

It’s the most concrete effort yet to turn President Donald Trump’s desire to acquire the Danish territory into actionable policy, despite widespread international outrage.

The White House is preparing an estimate of what it would cost the federal government to control Greenland as a territory, according to three people with knowledge of the matter, the most concrete effort yet to turn President Donald Trump’s desire to acquire the Danish island into actionable policy.

While Trump’s demands elicited international outrage and a rebuke from Denmark, White House officials have in recent weeks taken steps to determine the financial ramifications of Greenland becoming a U.S. territory, including the cost of providing government services for its 58,000 residents, the people said.

JD Vance has ruffled feathers during a controversial trip to Greenland, where he accused Denmark of effectively abandoning the territory to Beijing and Moscow and told residents their climate was “cold as s—”.

Mr Vance declared that the US could no longer “bury our head in the snow” and ignore China’s attempts to establish itself in the semi-autonomous territory during the first ever visit to Greenland by a US vice-president on Friday.

He explicitly urged Greenlanders to vote for independence from Denmark, urging its citizens to join the US’s “security umbrella” in comments that have caused outrage in Copenhagen.

Second lady Usha Vance will travel to Greenland this week on a cultural mission with her son and American officials, the vice president’s office announced on Sunday. As the administration pushes for some kind of deal to annex the Danish territory, Ms. Vance plans to attend its annual national dogsled competition.

The second lady and her delegation will depart for Greenland on Thursday, where they will visit historical sites and learn more about Greenlandic heritage. “Ms. Vance and the delegation are excited to witness this monumental race and celebrate Greenlandic culture and unity. They will return to the United States on Saturday, March 29, 2025,” the vice president’s office said in a statement.

Bringing the island closer to America makes national security sense.

President Trump’s determination to purchase Greenland from Denmark has upended the transatlantic dialogue. What was dismissed as a flight of fancy when originally raised in 2019 has, combined with the president’s recent interest in the Panama Canal, become something far more significant: the beginning of a possible “Trump Doctrine,” reprioritizing the Western Hemisphere as the principal theater of American economic and security interest.