Broadcaster DR, which spoke to government officials and military personnel, said part of the plan was to blow up airstrips on the Arctic island to prevent American planes from landing. An operational order dated January 13 laid out how Denmark planned to defend its territory, at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump was pushing to take it over, citing national security concerns.

“When Trump says all the time that he wants to buy Greenland, and then we see what happens in Venezuela, we had to take all possible scenarios seriously,” a Danish military official told DR, on condition of anonymity.

Newsweek reached out to Danish Defense for comment via email Thursday morning. The U.S. State Department referred to comment from Ambassador

According to DR, the document from the Danish military outlined a plan to defend Greenland in the wake of the U.S. operation to capture President Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. One official told the outlet that Denmark had to look at all possible scenarios.

In January, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and other EU nations sent troops to Greenland as part of a real operation, rather than an exercise. Troops had blood for transfusions should personnel be injured, as well as the explosives.

Denmark looked to gain support from fellow NATO and EU member countries, amid the uncertainty over what the Trump administration might do, the sources said. At the same time, the Danish government wanted to avoid an escalation with the U.S.

Some of the preparations began earlier in 2025, well before Trump and other U.S. officials ramped up rhetoric around a potential American takeover of Greenland. Trump had voiced his ambition to take control of the semiautonomous nation during his first term in the White House.

Earlier this year, the White House, for weeks, refused to rule out using military action to achieve its goal of taking Greenland from Denmark, deeply shaking European confidence in the U.S.’ role as NATO‘s protector.

The Danish government and Greenlandic officials hit back at Washington with increasing force, and while Trump declared he had agreed a “framework” of a deal for the territory, updates on negotiations have been scarce since.

The White House has repeatedly said the U.S. is the only country that can counter Russian and Chinese ambitions for Greenland, although Danish and European officials have played down the threat Moscow and Beijing pose to the territory in the near future.

In a statement shared with Newsweek Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to Denmark Kenneth Howery said Trump had been clear that Greenland and the Arctic remained important to the U.S. national security.

“In Davos, he stated clearly that the United States will not use military force against Greenland,” Howery said. “We continue to maintain our longstanding diplomatic and security cooperation with the governments of Denmark and Greenland, and look forward to continued cooperation on issues of shared concern.”

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