American officials discussed the possibility of providing Greenlanders with one-time payments to persuade them to secede from Denmark and join the United States. Four informed sources told Reuters about this, UNN reports.
Details
According to two sources, although the exact dollar amount is unclear, American officials, including White House aides, discussed amounts ranging from $10,000 to $100,000 per person.
Another source noted that internal discussions about one-time payments are not new. However, he said, they have become more serious in recent days, with aides considering increasingly higher amounts, with a payment of $100,000 per person, totaling almost $6 billion, being a real option.
The idea of directly paying money to the residents of Greenland is one explanation of how the US could try to "buy" the island with a population of 57,000 people.
One source also noted that White House aides are seeking to transfer the momentum from the operation in Venezuela to achieving other long-standing geopolitical goals of US President Donald Trump.
Recall
Trump's team is preparing potential deals to strengthen US influence in Greenland, including mineral extraction. Denmark, which controls the island, refuses to sell but offers to strengthen the US military and economic presence.