Donald Trump’s expansionist aims continue to cause discussion. Yesterday, only hours after highlighting how important it would be for the U.S. to regain control of the Panama Canal, the president-elect shifted his attention to Greenland, an island currently controlled by Denmark.
The MAGA leader explained: “For purposes of National Security and Freedom throughout the World, the United States of America feels that the ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity”. This is not the first time Trump has set his sights on the island. Already during his first term as president he had even discussed a possible purchase of the latter.
His advances, however, were nipped in the bud by local authorities. Faced with that rejection, the MAGA leader canceled his state visit to Denmark. As Axios explained, since 1867 the United States has considered or attempted on several occasions to purchase Greenland, the world’s largest island.
The latter is geographically part of the North American continent, but has close geopolitical ties to Europe, and has received funding from the EU as it is classified as an overseas territory associated with the continent, via Denmark. The island also has direct access to the Arctic, an area that experts say is already feeling the effects of climate change.
Greenland’s natural resources include gold, silver, copper and uranium, and there is believed to be considerable potential for oil extraction in the waters off the territory. It is also for this reason, then, that the island has attracted the interest of the U.S. and Donald Trump several times.
Meanwhile, yesterday the president-elect, after expressing his desire to want to bring the Panama Canal back under U.S. control, received the decisively piquant response of the local president, José Raúl Mulino, who took office in July. The latter stated: “Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its adjacent area belongs to Panama and will continue to be so. The sovereignty and independence of our country aren’t negotiable.”
To Molino’s words, Trump responded with a “We’ll see about that!”, released on his Truth profile. On the social network, the president-elect also posted an image of a waterway, complete with a caption: “Welcome to the United States Canal!”
