Trump sets sights on Greenland

Trump sets sights on Greenland

Cameron Henderson

Sun, January 4, 2026 at 7:37 PM UTC

7 min read

A handcuffed Nicolas Maduro arriving at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York

Donald Trump suggested the US could take over Greenland after capturing Nicolas Maduro and signalling his intention to “run” Venezuela.

“We do need Greenland, absolutely,” the US president told The Atlantic magazine, adding that the Danish territory was “surrounded by Russian and Chinese ships”.

He said officials in his administration would decide what happened to Greenland, which Mr Trump has claimed the US must annex for its security.

“We need it for defence,” he said of Greenland.

Jens-Frederik Nielsen, the prime minister of Greenland, earlier on Sunday rebuked the Trump administration, calling it “disrespectful” and saying that the territory was “not for sale”.

He was referring to an image posted on social media by Katie Miller, the wife of Mr Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, showing the map of Greenland painted with the US flag and captioned “SOON”.

The mission to capture Maduro has triggered concerns about further US military operations in the Western hemisphere, which the Trump administration views as part of America’s sphere of influence.

A US invasion of Greenland is deemed unlikely by analysts who point out that the Danish territory is a part of the Nato alliance along with the United States.

However, the renewed threats are likely to alarm European leaders as the American split with the continent grows.

a map of Greenland covered in the US flag, posted by Katie Miller — Katie Miller, wife of one of Mr Trump’s aides, posted a map of Greenland covered in the US flag online

The US will be keeping a close eye on Delcey Rodriguez, Mr Maduro’s vice-president, who was sworn-in as interim president by the country’s supreme court on Sunday.

Mr Trump warned that she would pay a “big price” if she failed to co-operate with the US.

“If she doesn’t do what’s right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro,” he told The Atlantic.

He said on Saturday that Ms Rodriguez, was “essentially willing to do what we think is necessary to make Venezuela great again”. Ms Rodríguez has rejected suggestions that she will follow US orders.

Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are expected to appear in a Manhattan court on Monday, charged with narco-terrorism and possession of machine guns.

A 25-page indictment accuses the pair of kidnap, beatings and murder to sustain a drug-trafficking operation run by cartels using fake passports allegedly dished out by the president.

Nicolas Maduro being walked in custody down a hallway at the offices of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in New York City — Nicolas Maduro being walked in custody down a hallway at the offices of the US Drug Enforcement Administration in New York - @RapidResponse47/via REUTERS

A cyber attack on Venezuela allowed helicopters to fly in and capture Maduro, officials in the US revealed. At least 40 people, including civilians, were killed in accompanying air strikes, a senior Venezuelan official claimed.

JD Vance, the US vice-president, defended the mission. “I understand the anxiety over the use of military force, but are we just supposed to allow a communist to steal our stuff in our hemisphere and do nothing? Great powers don’t act like that,” he said.

Washington has said it launched the operation to topple Mr Maduro to stop drug-trafficking into the US and to get access to its vast oil reserves, the largest in the world.

Trump ‘enraged by mocking video’

Mr Trump was reportedly moved to order the daring ambush after being enraged by a video of Mr Maduro dancing to an electronic remix of his own speech, “No War, Yes Peace,” on Dec 30.

The US president thought the Venezuelan leader was “mocking” him and calling his bluff, a week after the US struck a dock that Mr Trump claimed was used to house drug-trafficking boats.

The US ruled out immediate elections in Venezuela on Sunday. Marco Rubio, the US secretary of state, said talk of a vote was “premature”, adding that America would run Venezuelan policy through the parts of the regime still in power.

“Let’s be realistic here,” he told NBC on Sunday when asked about elections. “What we are focused on right now is all of the problems we had when Maduro was there – we still have those problems in terms of them needing to be addressed.”

Ms Rodríguez is a former lawyer seen as more moderate than Mr Maduro.

Delcy Rodriguez, Mr Maduro’s vice-president, was sworn-in as interim president on Sunday - JUAN BARRETO/AFP

Armed members of a pro-government militia were seen on Saturday stopping civilians in parts of the city that remain loyal to the toppled leader.

Elsewhere, crowds gathered in subway stations looking for charging stations after power cuts were reported in parts of the city.

Mr Rubio said on Sunday that the US wanted to give Ms Rodríguez “an opportunity to address the challenges” in Venezuela as a transitional government taking instructions from Washington, DC.

Mr Rubio has been nicknamed “viceroy of Venezuela” after Mr Trump appointed him and others to “run” the country on Saturday. He is said to have played a central role in guiding the Trump administration towards toppling Mr Maduro’s regime.

Marco Rubio has been called “viceroy of Venezuela” after being appointed to “run” the country - Molly Riley/The White House

Reports emerged on Sunday suggesting the ousting of Mr Maduro was an inside job. Former Colombian officials said they were “absolutely certain” that Ms Rodríguez betrayed Mr Maduro.

One US official said of Ms Rodríguez that “she’s certainly someone we think we can work at a much more professional level” than Mr Maduro. The official told the New York Times that Washington had been impressed by Ms Rodríguez’s ability to manage Venezuela’s oil industry.

Ms Rodríguez had presented the US with a plan for her to run Venezuela without Mr Maduro, according to the Miami Herald. It is not clear if she co-operated with the US to help capture the former president.

Pressure mounted on Sir Keir Starmer from the Left wing of Labour on Sunday to condemn the US actions in Venezuela and “stand up to Trump’s gangster politics”.

On Sunday, Dmitry ‍Medvedev, a former Russian president and close ally of Vladimir Putin, said the attacks on Venezuela were unlawful but consistent because Mr Trump was defending US interests.

“It must be acknowledged ‍that, ‌despite the obvious unlawfulness of Trump’s behaviour, one cannot deny a certain consistency ‍in his actions. He and his team defend their country’s national interests quite harshly,” he told state news.

0501 Socialism tanked Venezuela\'s oil industry

Oil markets were braced for possible volatility in global markets when trading resumed across most of the world on Monday morning.

The stock market in Saudi Arabia, which relies on high oil prices to sustain its economy, fell by the most in nine months on Sunday. The Tadawul All Share Index dropped 1.8 per cent, the biggest decline since Mr Trump’s tariffs destabilised global markets in April.

Meanwhile, oil companies were preparing to return to Venezuela to begin extracting crude, a key pledge made by Mr Trump in the aftermath of the raid on Caracas.

Protesters outside the US embassy in Madrid, Spain, hold a sign showing Donald Trump drinking petrol — Protesters outside the US embassy in Madrid, Spain, hold a cartoon showing Donald Trump drinking oil - Luciano Lima

Mr Rubio said that the US did not need Venezuelan oil, but there would be “no more using the oil industry to enrich all our adversaries”.

“Why does China need Venezuelan oil? Why does Russia? Why does Iran?” he said. A US blockade is currently preventing exports of Venezuelan oil.

Mr Trump told reporters on Saturday that US companies would invest billions of dollars in the country’s oil fields, which are estimated to be the largest in the world.

Interim leader’s ‘ties to Moscow’

Questions have been raised over Ms Rodríguez’s ties to the Kremlin, following reports that she was in Russia at the time of Mr Maduro’s capture.

The interim leader signed dozens of co-operation agreements with Moscow in the past and in November said that Venezuela’s relationship with Moscow “cannot be destroyed”.

The US military operation has drawn condemnation from Venezuela’s allies China, North Korea and Russia – but has been cautiously welcomed in some European capitals.

Mr Maduro and his wife are being held in a Brooklyn prison with a history of bad conditions and mistreatment of inmates, which have included Ghislaine Maxwell, Luigi Mangione and the rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs.

The former Venezuelan leader was last seen in a “perp walk” video in which he wished DEA officers a “good night” and a “Happy New Year” as he was escorted to jail on Saturday.

Shackled, wearing a blue hoodie and black hat pulled over his head, he was pictured smiling and holding his thumbs up alongside dozens of federal agents.

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