Greenland. A cold, icy island of some 56,000 people. The island lies only about 1,300 miles from the tip of New England, and has a long standing history of collaboration with the U.S. This ranges from being used for ferrying operations of the B-17 and other aircraft during the Second World War, to the modern day Pituffik Space Base.
The Panama Canal. A canal right through the middle of the aforementioned country. Constructed in part by an agreement between the (Theodore) Roosevelt administration and the then freshly independent Central American republic. The canal was owned and operated by the U.S. until 1999.
It was peacefully handed off that year under an agreement made decades prior in 1977 by the Carter administration’s Torrijos-Carter treaties. The two treaties, respectively the Neutrality Act and the Panama Canal Treaty, had been signed into law in 1979.
Recently, both have re-entered the popular consciousness after comments by Trump on the possible acquisition of the two territories. Some believe that the moves are justified, based upon a realistic fear of Chinese encroachment in the southern continent and the far north. Others have described it as ranging from pointless to plainly ridiculous.
In Greenland, and its owner Denmark, reactions have largely been strongly opposed to the possibility of an American takeover. Prime Minister of Denmark Mette Frederkisen has stood firm on Greenland having a right to self-determination, especially following its increased autonomy courtesy of the Self-Government Act of 2009. Greenland’s Prime Minister, Múte B. Egede, made clear that it’s his desire to see the island completely freed from either nation’s interests, instead pushing towards the longstanding idea of Greenlandic independence.
One of the reasons Greenland is so sought after is because it’s believed that it could hold massive oil deposits underneath its frigid surface, alongside known mineral deposits, namely graphite, titanium, and copper. Some have speculated that this may be a potential motive of the Trump administration.
“Trump may be interested in Greenland because his tech pals know about minerals and other resources in Greenland that could prove useful,” former Delaware Gazette writer Margo Bartlett said. “Mostly, though, I think Trump is never truthful about anything. He spent his campaign claiming inflation and the price of groceries were his biggest concerns. Once elected, he said he couldn’t do anything about food prices and that inflation is not his number one concern.”
Feelings around Panama have been much the same, with Panamanian president José Raúl Mulino offering some concessions to the U.S. but remaining firm on the canal’s ownership. Even following Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s visit to the nation, the push for the U.S. to repurchase the canal remains.
The canal made about $4.9 billion in 2024, which accounts for just under 6% of the entire GDP of Panama, making it a vital part of the Panamanian economy. It also serves as a national symbol to the small republic, representing to many the long struggle for true independence from any one nation.
“While it’s a deplorable action, it’s ultimately a necessary evil,” said an unnamed Argentine citizen in a Talisman interview. “[Trump’s comments] boil down as both deplorable and highly anti-democratic. But, they highlight the necessity of an arrangement that can partially guarantee partial economic support to, unarguably, the most important country of the western world: [Panama], which hinges entirely on [the U.S.] and its gross economic output.”
If anything will materialize from the Trump administration’s efforts and advances towards the two countries is yet to be seen beyond the Panamanian concessions, but it remains a present thought within the international consciousness.
