DOMINANT ANGLE
Santiago sees the Greenland agreement first and foremost as a security lock that shuts the Arctic off to China and Russia, rather than as a sovereignty settlement between allies.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Trump announced on Truth Social that the agreement gives Washington "permanent control over security and all other needs in Greenland", at no cost and "forever" (La Tercera).
- 02
The signing is scheduled for next week during the UN High-Level Week in New York, subject to approval by the Greenlandic and Danish parliaments (BioBioChile).
- 03
The agreement prohibits any unauthorized military presence or investment from China and Russia in Greenland and allows Washington to increase the number of its bases, as it currently only has one, that of Pituffik (BioBioChile).
ANALYSIS
Santiago, September 19, 2026. The Chilean press first notes the strategic lock that the agreement announced on Friday, September 18, by Donald Trump between Washington, Copenhagen, and Nuuk on the security future of Greenland closes. On Truth Social, the American president stated that the agreement gives Washington "permanent control of security and all other needs in Greenland", at no cost to the United States and "forever". According to La Tercera, this text opens a new chapter in the crisis that has opposed the White House to Copenhagen and the Greenlandic authorities for months, after Trump mentioned, at the beginning of the year, the possibility of invading the island of 56,000 inhabitants — a territory that nonetheless belongs to a NATO ally. The same article specifies that Washington will now be able to oppose its veto to any installation, any troop deployment, or certain investments from countries deemed adversaries.
BioBioChile details the terms reported by American sources: the pact guarantees the United States a permanent role in Greenland's security, prohibits any military presence or unauthorized investment from a Washington adversary on the island, and adds overflight rights as well as the possibility of increasing the number of American bases. Currently, Washington only has one base, that of Pituffik, after decades of reducing its presence — a policy that the Danish authorities attribute to a prior American decision.
The agreement, described as "historic" by Trump himself, is to be signed next week during the UN High-Level Week in New York, subject to the approval of the Greenlandic and Danish parliaments. Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen confirmed the agreement through a joint statement, presented as intended to strengthen security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic.
For the Chilean press, the central issue is less about Greenlandic sovereignty than the explicit exclusion of China and Russia from investments and military deployments on the island — a signal sent to rival powers in an increasingly disputed Arctic region, at a time when Beijing and Moscow are multiplying their ambitions in the Far North.
