D. Trump threatens to return the Panama Canal to the US, targets Greenland

Ambitions of the future White House host: to bring the Panama Canal and Greenland back under US control

US President-elect Donald Trump has complained about excessive tariffs on American ships sailing in the Panama Canal and threatened to take back control^[1].

"Panama's taxes are ridiculous and very unfair. This plundering of our country will end immediately," the President-elect told a conservative conference in Arizona.

Before that, Trump wrote on Truth Social that the Panama Canal is "a vital US national asset" and that former President Jimmy Carter "gave it away for one dollar".

The US controlled the canal until the end of 1999 when it handed over control to the Panamanian government under a 1977 agreement.

The Panamanian President's response: the canal belongs to Panama

Commenting on Trump's statements, the President of Panama, Jose Raul Mulino, stressed that the canal belongs to his country and that the issue is not under discussion.

"Every square meter of the Panama Canal and its surroundings belongs to Panama and will continue to belong to Panama," he stressed. - The sovereignty and independence of our country cannot be the subject of debate."

Tariffs, he said, are set according to market conditions and the costs of operating the canal and maintaining its infrastructure^[2].

D. Trump also said that the Panama Canal "should have been run by Panama and not by China or anyone else".

"We will never let it fall into the wrong hands!" - said the Republican.

"The Canal has no control, direct or indirect, from China, from the European Union, from the United States or any other country", replied R. Mulino.

"We shall see", Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Later, he posted a photo of an American flag in front of the canal on his network and added the caption: "Welcome to the United States Canal!" (in this form, it translates as "Welcome to the United States Canal", but if there were a comma after "United States", the meaning of the statement would be: "Channel, welcome to the United States").

The Panama Canal, which was completed by the US by 1914, is one of the world's main shipping routes, with some 14,000 ships passing through it each year.

The Canal is 82 kilometers long and connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

D. Trump's focus is not only on the Canal but also on other territories

A few days ago, after announcing the appointment of former Swedish envoy Ken Khoury as ambassador to Copenhagen, Trump spoke again about Greenland.

"In the interest of national security and freedom around the world, the United States of America believes that ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

"Greenland is ours. We are not for sale and never will be. In a written comment, we cannot lose the long struggle for freedom", replied Mute Egede, the current Prime Minister of Greenland.

During his first term in office in 2019, Trump proposed that the United States buy Greenland, home to the strategically important American space base Pytufic. This idea was immediately and categorically rejected by both Denmark and the island's authorities^[3].

The then Prime Minister of Greenland, Kim Kielsen, replied to Trump: 'Greenland is not for sale and cannot be sold, but Greenland is open for trade and military and economic cooperation with the United States'.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called Trump's proposal "absurd". In response, the US President called it "disgusting" and canceled his visit to Copenhagen.

Will Greenland be great again?

Recently, Trump confirmed that his eldest son will travel to Greenland on a working visit with various representatives. He wrote about it on his social network Truth Social.

He specified that Donald Trump Jr. would visit some of the "most amazing places and attractions". At the same time, the politician said Greenlanders will benefit "enormously if and when" the country becomes part of the US.

"Let's make Greenland great again", Trump promised.

М. Egede against the "shackles of the colonial era"

"It is time for our country to take the next step. Like the rest of the world, we need to work to remove the barriers to cooperation - what we might call the shackles of the colonial era - and move on. History and current conditions have shown that our cooperation with the Kingdom of Denmark has not led to full equality, and if we continue to be guided by the Danish constitution, equal cooperation cannot be achieved," reads the appeal published in Danish and Greenlandic.

"It is time to take a step and shape our future, including with whom we should cooperate closely and our trade relations. Because our cooperation with other countries and our trade relations cannot only go through Denmark", the politician added.

Over the past few years, he said, the Greenlandic Parliament and government "have worked together to take steps to develop our constitution, which is the basis for our separation from Denmark".

"The ability of the Greenlandic people to gain their independence was enshrined in the provisions of the Home Rule Act, which created the legal basis for independence. A basic law, our country's constitution, has also been drafted. Work has already begun to build the foundations of Greenland as an independent state by the possibilities and provisions of the Home Rule Act," added Egede.

Greenland is the world's largest island, covering 2.1 million square kilometers (almost six times the size of Germany). However, its population is only about 56,000. It became a Danish colony in the 18th century. Following a referendum in 1979, Greenland became an autonomous Danish colony. In 2009, after another referendum, Copenhagen passed the Greenland Home Rule Act, extending its autonomy. It is to this law that M. Egede refers^[4].

"Politico recalls that this politician, who has led the Greenlandic Government since 2021, is the leader of the People's Community Party (Inuit Ataqatigiit), which has long favored independence. Under a 2009 law, the island can only declare independence after a successful referendum. According to Politico, Egede has also referred to the parliamentary elections on the island in April.

At the same time, the publication points out that, despite its abundant resources, Greenland receives substantial financial subsidies from Copenhagen - around €500 million annually.

Unexpected decision by Copenhagen to change its coat of arms

Denmark reacted somewhat unexpectedly to Trump's announcement that it wanted to acquire Greenland by changing its coat of arms. It has changed its coat of arms and made it more prominent with Greenland and the Faroe Islands symbols - a polar bear and a ram. For five centuries, the coats of arms had previously featured three crowns instead of animals, symbolizing the Kalmar Union between Denmark, Norway, and Sweden^[5].