Denmark summons US envoy after report of Americans carrying out
influence operations in Greenland
[August 27, 2025]
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s foreign minister had
the top U.S. diplomat in the country summoned for talks after the main
national broadcaster reported Wednesday that at least three people with
connections to President Donald Trump have been carrying out covert
influence operations in Greenland.
Trump has repeatedly said he seeks U.S. jurisdiction over Greenland, a
vast, semi-autonomous territory of Denmark. He has not ruled out
military force to take control of the mineral-rich, strategically
located Arctic island.
Denmark, a NATO ally of the U.S., and Greenland have said the island is
not for sale and condemned reports of the U.S. gathering intelligence
there.
Danish public broadcaster DR reported Wednesday that 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 Americans 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.
An influence operation is an organized effort to shape how people in a
society think in order to achieve certain political, military or other
objectives.
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.
DR 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 emailed by his
ministry. “It is therefore not surprising if we experience outside
attempts to influence the future of the Kingdom in the time ahead.”
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Denmark' Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen arrives for the NATO
summit in The Hague, Netherlands, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo Kin
Cheung, File)
“Any attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of the Kingdom
will of course be unacceptable,” Løkke Rasmussen said. “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.”
Cooperation between the governments of Denmark and Greenland “is
close and based on mutual trust," he added.
The U.S. Embassy in Copenhagen did not immediately respond to a
request for comment.
The Danish Security and Intelligence Service responded to a request
for comment by saying it believes that “particularly in the current
situation, Greenland is a target for influence campaigns of various
kinds” that could aim to create divisions in the relationship
between Denmark and Greenland.
It said it “assesses that this could be done by exploiting existing
or fabricated disagreements, for example in connection with
well-known individual cases, or by promoting or amplifying certain
viewpoints in Greenland regarding the Kingdom, the United States, or
other countries with a particular interest in Greenland.”
The service, known by its Danish acronym PET, said that in recent
years it has “continuously strengthened” its efforts and presence in
Greenland in cooperation with authorities there, and will continue
to do so.
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