American agents have been trying to recruit people for a secession movement, according to Danish media
Denmark has summoned the top US diplomat in the country over reports of alleged covert American spying operations in Greenland, a Danish semi-autonomous territory.
National media have claimed that at least three Americans with ties to US President Donald Trump have been involved in influence efforts in Greenland. According to public broadcaster DR, eight sources including security officials believe the operations are aimed at weakening relations between Greenland and Denmark and recruiting people for a secession movement. One operative is said to have been compiling lists of Greenlanders who would support a split from Copenhagen. The broadcaster stated it was unclear whether the individuals had acted independently or under orders.
Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen has insisted that any interference in Denmark’s internal affairs is unacceptable and ordered the US charge d’affaires, Mark Stroh, to appear at the ministry. The US currently has no ambassador in Copenhagen, leaving Stroh as the most senior American diplomat.
Denmark’s PET intelligence service has also warned of attempts to “create discord in the relationship between Denmark and Greenland” by exploiting “existing or invented disagreements,” either with “traditional, physical influence agents or via disinformation.” PET has said it has strengthened its presence in Greenland in response.
Trump has long indicated that he wants to bring Greenland under US control, calling the island a strategically vital asset. He has not ruled out using military force to achieve that goal, stressing its mineral wealth and position in the Arctic.
Alleged US attempts to take control of Greenland come amid broader competition with Russia and China in developing the Arctic. Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the region as a zone of “enormous potential” for trade and development.
Operation Greenland seems to be ‘on’.
These last days, the US territorial ambitions regarding the island of Greenland have resurfaced in the headlines, as the consequences of the brutal treatment by Denmark of the indigenous Inuit populations are also propelled back to the news.
Today (27), the main Danish national broadcaster reported that ‘at least three people with connections to President Donald Trump’ have been carrying out what they called ‘covert influence operations’ in Greenland.
This led Copenhagen to summon the U.S. ambassador to the country for talks.
Associated Press reported:
“Public broadcaster DR said Danish government and security sources which it didn’t name, as well as unidentified sources in Greenland and the U.S., believe that at least three American nationals with connections to Trump have been carrying out covert influence operations in the territory.
One of those people allegedly compiled a list of U.S.-friendly Greenlanders, collected names of people opposed to Trump and got locals to point out cases that could be used to cast Denmark in a bad light in American media. Two others have tried to nurture contacts with politicians, businesspeople and locals, according to the report.”
AP’s report reminds readers that Trump ‘has not ruled out military force to take control of the mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island’.
NATO-member Denmark insist that the island ‘is not for sale’.
“DR said its story was based on information from a total of eight sources, who believe the goal is to weaken relations with Denmark from within Greenlandic society. It said it had been unable to clarify whether the Americans were working at their own initiative or on orders from someone else. It said it knows their names but chose not to publish them in order to protect its sources. The Associated Press could not independently confirm the report.
‘We are aware that foreign actors continue to show an interest in Greenland and its position in the Kingdom of Denmark’, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said in a statement. ‘It is therefore not surprising if we experience outside attempts to influence the future of the Kingdom in the time ahead. “Any attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of the Kingdom will of course be unacceptable. In that light, I have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to summon the U.S. chargé d’affaires for a meeting at the Ministry’.”
Denmark summoned the top U.S. diplomat in Copenhagen after reports emerged that Americans were conducting covert operations in Greenland, the Daily Caller News Foundation confirmed Wednesday.
Danish media outlet DR reported that at least three U.S. citizens with connections to Trump were engaged in activities authorities fear could be used to promote the president’s goal of bringing Greenland under American control, according to the Associated Press. Greenland is a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark, which Trump has long expressed interest in acquiring.
“Any attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of the Kingdom will, of course, be unacceptable,” Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said in a statement shared with the DCNF. “In that light, I have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to summon the U.S. chargé d’affaires for a meeting at the Ministry.”
One individual allegedly compiled lists identifying Greenlanders based on their stance toward U.S. influence, while others maintained political and business contacts on the island, according to the AP. The Danish outlet was unable to clarify whether the Americans were working independently or at the behest of someone else.
Tensions over Greenland have been mounting as Trump has repeatedly stated his interest in acquiring the Arctic island. Strategically located between the U.S., Russia and Europe and rich in minerals, Greenland is considered valuable for both economic and defense purposes.
“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,” Trump wrote in a statement in December announcing that he had chosen Ken Howery to serve as ambassador to Denmark.
Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance visited the island in March in hopes of improving relations with Greenlanders.
“We are aware that foreign actors continue to show an interest in Greenland and its position in the Kingdom of Denmark. It is therefore not surprising if we experience outside attempts to influence the future of the Kingdom in the time ahead,” said Rasmussen. “The cooperation between the governments of Denmark and Greenland is close and based on mutual trust, just as there is close cooperation and dialogue between the relevant Greenlandic and Danish authorities.”
“It worries me greatly because we do not spy on friends,” Rasmussen said in May, responding to a report about increased American intelligence-gathering efforts in Greenland.
However, Carla Sands, U.S. Ambassador to Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands during Trump’s first term, pushed back on Denmark’s claims.
“I don’t have personal awareness of the U.S. government doing what Denmark is accusing them of doing in Greenland. However, I DO know that Denmark has tried to covertly influence the governments and people of Greenland and the U.S.,” Sands told the DCNF.
Neither the White House nor the State Department responded to the DCNF’s request for comment.
