After i raid planes on Venezuela and the capture of President Maduro together with his wife, Donald Trump has recently announced that he United States they will receive among 30 to 50 million barrels of oil by Venezuela, which they will be free from sanctions and which can be resold at market price. At the same time Trump asked the current Venezuelan President interim Delcy Rodriguez to interrupt any economic relations with China, Cuba, Iran and Russia, Venezuela’s main allies and economic partners in the oil field. In this context, President Trump’s already well-known aims for Greenland have also come back to the fore, expressing the need for national security of the USA to control it or – even – purchase it from Denmark.
Venezuela is one of the countries richest in oil deposits: the agreement
I am pleased to announce that the transitional authorities in Venezuela will deliver between 30 and 50 million barrels of high-quality, sanctions-free oil to the United States of America. This oil will be sold at market price and the proceeds will be managed by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure that it is used for the benefit of the Venezuelan people and the United States!
Remember that the Venezuela it is one of the richest countries in oil fields in the world: according to the US Energy Information Administration it has approximately 20% of world reserves, equal to approximately 303 billion barrels. To date, also following the harsh sanctions imposed by the United States, Venezuela produces approximately 1 million barrels a day – about it 0.8% of global crude oil production. The national oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela Sociedad Anónima (PDVSA), was once one of the most important in Latin America, but the lack of investment and mismanagement of PDVSA led to a huge decline in production in the last 20 years: until 2000 production was approximately 3.2 million barrels per day (mbd).
U.S. international sanctions against the Venezuelan government and a deep economic crisis have contributed to the decline of the country’s oil industry, along with a lack of investment and maintenance, according to the EIA. All this has made Venezuela a place shaken by economic crises and external shocks. Meanwhile, the Beijing government accuses the United States of violating the international law, underlining that Venezuela is a sovereign state and therefore possesses “full and permanent sovereignty over its natural resources and economic activities”.
Greenland is an important strategic point for the Arctic Route
Following the events related to Venezuela, in recent days the President Trump he returned to address the topic again Greenlanddeclaring that control of the island constitutes a national security priorities of the United States and even expressing its desire to purchase it from Denmark.
During the Cold War, the island had already been used as a test base ballistic missilesthe US military specifically used Thule Air Base (now Pituffik NATO Base), located in the municipality of Avannaata in northern Greenland.
The island is a strategic point important in the international context for the control of Arctic Routewhich crosses the Arctic Ocean along eight different states. This route is almost entirely controlled by Russia, given the extent of Siberia, but is becoming increasingly relevant due to the melting of ice in the area. Undoubtedly, however, one of the main reasons for US interest is linked to wealth of raw materials and energy sources of the Greenlandic territory.
Greenland, in fact, is rich in vast deposits of hydrocarbons and mineralssuch as gold, platinum, zinc, nickel, uranium and rare earths. These minerals and the elements of rare earths they are essential components in emerging technologiesespecially in the sector energeticsuch as electric vehicles and wind turbines, as well as having national security applications in the field of advanced military technologies: drones and missile guidance systems above all. Unlike others, Greenlandic deposits of rare metals are still little exploited and exploredalso due to the difficulties related to climatic conditions: they are in fact found beneath thick layers of ice that are difficult to access. Furthermore the logistics and extraction infrastructures present on the island are not yet fully developed.
The similarities between Venezuela and Greenland
Numerous international observers and analysts have compared the situations of the two countries, declining them based on US ambitions and strategic interests. The interest both in Greenland – in the control of the Arctic Route – both for the Venezuela – to reiterate the US “hegemony”. on the territories of Latin America and for stem the Russian and Chinese presence in those territories – it is common to both.
Secondly, the component linked to control of energy resources And minerals it is undoubtedly strong in both cases, albeit with the necessary differences mainly linked to the accessibility of resources and mineral deposits. So let it be theeconomic and energy supply aspect that that military-strategic to limit the Chinese and Russian presence in these territories are a common denominator for Venezuela and Greenland, together with a clear desire to reaffirm the hegemony and greatness of the United States in the international context.
What are the differences between the two cases
The Prime Minister of Greenland, Jens Frederik Nielsen, however wanted to underline the difference with Venezuela, downplaying President Trump’s statements. First of all, Greenland is a country that has a democratic political order and formally it is part of the Kingdom of Denmarkdespite enjoying a status of autonomy. We are talking about a Special Territory of the European Union – despite not being part of the EU – of a country allied with the United States, and under the umbrella BORN.
In contrast, Venezuela had a President and a government not recognized by the United States and ten other countries (Paraguay, Argentina, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, Dominican Republic and Uruguay) considered a authoritarian regime and also internationally isolated from the point of view of defense. Although indeed China and Russia have always expressed their support for Venezuela, also condemning Trump’s action from the point of view of international law, to date none of these powers provides support in defensive terms to Venezuela.
There Greenlandbeing under the NATO umbrella, enjoys a completely different position. Furthermore, lhypothesis of a military intervention in the country or of coercive actions – such as those that occurred in Venezuela – in the case of Greenland it seems remotecompared to a “diplomatic” or negotiation route, including the absurd hypothesis of purchasing from Denmark.
