Greenland is not part of the United States, but they have had it for decades, as a result of the Cold War. It is called Pituffik since 2023 (formerly known as Thule Air Base), a United States Space Force installationlocated in northwest Greenland.
Greenland thus returns to l and it is not by chance. One of the keys to Donald Trump’s renewed interest in the largest island in the world is Pituffik, a military base that the United States considers key to its global security.
“It’s not fear, it’s worry”summarizes anthropologist Francesc Bailón, with 25 years of experience in Greenland. “The United States has been trying to buy Greenland for 200 years, but it is not sold”, .
Greenland wants to decide its future
Independence is no longer a distant aspiration. On March 11, 2025, Greenland held elections that functioned, in practice, as a referendum. As Bailón explains, 91.6% of the population voted and only a party—the only one in favor of approaching the United States—was left out of the Government.
Five of the six main forces agreed to break with Denmark, although with differences over the pace. The polls were even clearer on another point: almost 90% of Greenlanders reject the United States. “Neither with Washington nor with the Danish crown. Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders“Bailón insists. The Constitution has already been drafted and, according to the anthropologist, independence could arrive in about three years.
“We are going to do something in Greenland, whether you like it or not”
However, Trump’s words were clear: “We are going to do something in Greenland whether you like it or not, because if we don’t, Russia or China will take over of Greenland, and we are not going to have Russia or China as neighbors. I would like to reach an agreement the right way.”
Is Trump exaggerating? What about Russia and China in the Arctic? China defines itself as and seeks access to strategic minerals (rare earths, uranium, zinc) and routes of the future “Polar Silk Road”.
He has also promoted ideas of a permanent scientific base and satellite station, but several plans have cooled due to misgivings from Denmark and the United States.
Russia concentrates its efforts on its own Arctic (Russian Lapland, Barents Sea coast, Northern Sea Route), with large gas and oil projects towards China and military strengthening (bases, icebreakers, air defense).
Danish intelligence report names Russia and China as actors seeking to increase influence in the Arcticor, but the Russian focus is on its waters and bases, not on the Danish island.
Pituffik, the key to global control
In the center of all eyes is Pituffik. The name change was not minor: Thule means “the farthest place in the world”, while Pituffik, in Kalaallisuttranslates as “the place where we tie our dogs.” For the Inuit, recovering the original name was a gesture of cultural resistance.
“It is the most strategic point on the planet”
Located on the northwest coast of Greenland, just 1,200 kilometers from the North Pole, Pituffik is, according to Bailón, “the most strategic point on the planet”. From there, American missiles reach both Russia and China, thanks to their privileged position in the Arctic.
The base houses the AN/FPS-120 radar and the 23rd Space Operations Squadron, essential for tracking satellites in polar orbits. Its existence responds to a historic agreement between the United States and Denmarkan agreement that could remain up in the air if Greenland becomes an independent state.
An obsession that comes from afar
“The United States’ interest in Greenland did not start with Trump”remembers Bailón. Andrew Johnson tried it in 1870, Harry S. Truman in 1946, Trump in 2019… and again in 2025. “It’s an unrequited romance.”
Contrary to what is often said, Bailón believes that rare earths are not the true objective. The key is Pituffik. “Trump knows that if Greenland becomes independent, the current agreement disappears and I would have to negotiate directly with the Greenlanders.”
That tension became visible this year. Neither Vice President JD Vance in March nor Trump’s son in May managed to land on Greenlandic territory. Both had to settle for stepping on the Pituffik rink, “that little American corner in the middle of the ice.”
A firm ‘no’ from the Arctic
The strength of Greenland, Bailón emphasizes, is in its people. “They know how to say ‘no’ with the same confidence with which they stab a harpoon”. A hunting and fishing people that has survived millennia without wars or drug trafficking, adapting to one of the harshest environments on the planet.
According to Bailón, if the United States took a step further, the reaction would be immediate. Although Greenland left the EU in 1985, it maintains the Overseas Territory status under European protection.
Denmark, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland and the United Kingdom have already signed a joint statement with a clear message: “Greenland belongs to its people”. France has even prepared a contingency plan for any attempt at intimidation.
