Theories on Venezuela Continue, But Is Greenland Next? And Who Else?

Support CleanTechnica’s work through a Substack subscription or on Stripe.

When Donald Trump’s professional kidnappers snatched up Nicolás and Cilia Maduro, there was immediately confusion and a trove of questions about what was going on, why, and where it was all going to lead.

I put out a few theories on what was driving it all for Donald Trump. Those have been reiterated today by others. They included that it was all about the oil, it was a distraction from issues that are a big threat to Donald Trump’s reputation and approval, and my third option: he’s a power-hungry dictator wannabe who idolizes people like Putin and has a dream of taking other countries or territories for the United States, leaving a mark like that of a former land-conquering king.

On that third one, my next line was: He didn’t get to buy Greenland, and he isn’t making Canada into a 51st state, but could he take over the country of Venezuela?

Crazy enough, that third option may not be too off. Here’s more news from today, courtesy of CBS:

“Denmark on Sunday made its displeasure known after the wife of one of President Trump’s most influential aides posted a social media picture of Greenland painted in the colors of the United States flag.

“Katie Miller — wife of Mr. Trump’s deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller — put the contentiously altered image of the Danish autonomous territory on her X feed late Saturday, hours after the U.S. military operation against Venezuela.

“Her post had a single word above it: ‘SOON.’

“Denmark’s ambassador to the U.S., Jesper Moeller Soerensen, reacted on Sunday with his own post saying ‘we expect full respect for the territorial integrity’ of Denmark, above a link to Katie Miller’s image.”

Seriously?

A reader, “john,” wrote the following earlier today under Steve Hanley’s article: “We have bombed Iran, and are threatening it again, we have bombed Nigeria and are threatening more help, we have threatened Canada. If you have oil you are under threat.” A comment further down the thread from “Scott” added: “In 12 months Trump has: attacked Venezuela, Iran, Yemen, Syria, Nigeria. He has threatened annexation of NATO allies Greenland, Canada. He has undermined Ukraine and threatened Panama, Mexico and Columbia. He has threatened to ethnically cleanse Gaza.”

Frankly, I didn’t really want to assume my third theory was the real answer, the real reason Trump had gone in and effectively taken over Venezuela.

Donald Trump is a power hungry egomaniac who is obsessed with “growing his brand.” He’s been known as this for decades. Consider him an original social media influencer. He used to let filmmakers use his properties to film movies as long as he was included in the movie in some way — hence his brief role in Home Alone 2. Now, with his life coming toward an end, is he just doing what other infamous power-hungry politicians have done in the past? Napoleon Bonaparte, Alexander the Great, Adolf Hitler, Vladimir Putin.

As I was finishing up this article, a notification popped up about something an actor I love — but haven’t really seen anything from for years — said in response to the news. It’s brilliant. Here’s the text (and video on Reddit):

Ethan Hawke: I was already upset about the Kennedy Center honor, and now we’re bombing some—

Interviewer: Could you make sense of any of it?

Ethan Hawke: No, I can make sense out of it in that, you know, I’ve done enough Shakespeare plays to know that power corrupts.

Interviewer: Shakespeare right next to you.

Ethan Hawke: I know, I know, exactly. But, you know, it’s a common theme of mankind—nothing that’s happening to us, as Americans, as civilians, isn’t anything that hasn’t happened to humanity. I mean, we’re surrounded—history’s littered with despots and selfish people and greedy people, and they make the rules for the kind people. And I keep wanting to say what a strange time we’re living in, but then I—the great thing about being an actor is you get to do all these period movies, and then you realize that every time period is strange, you know?

This is some—my mother calls it the battle between the mysterious force for good and the mysterious force for darkness. And it’s that—it’s that some interplay, it’s always happening. And that’s why I believe in movies. I kind of—I believe in a collective consciousness that if we can tell—if we can—it’s kind of like at Thanksgiving. You can sit down and have a bunch of really stupid conversations, or you can sit down and have some really productive, healthy conversations.

And it’s up to the artistic community to kind of be like conversation starters. And are we guiding the conversation in a way that’s healthy and pushing us forward to be our best self, or are we descending? So God knows many family Thanksgivings have gone sour and some have gone well.

I don’t know how to conclude this. I don’t know where that leaves us. But I’m concerned, like many, that Donald Trump is going to try to continue a crusade to take land and power from countries with a lot of natural resources. The US has — by far — the largest military in the world, and Trump has renamed the Department of Defense the Department of War.

It all seems crazy, but looking back on history and what powerful, narcissistic, greedy men have done, is it impossible?

Circling back to the CBS story, they added: “In Greenland’s case, Mr. Trump has claimed that making the Danish territory part of the United States would serve U.S. national security interests, given its strategic location in the Arctic. Greenland is also rich in key critical minerals used in high-tech sectors.”

Photo by Jean-Christophe André, via Pexels