Stephen Miller defends US control in Venezuela and Greenland ambitions

Tuesday 06 January 2026 - 07:50

By: Dakir Madiha

Stephen Miller defends US control in Venezuela and Greenland ambitions

Stephen Miller, deputy White House chief of staff, forcefully backed the Trump administration's actions in Venezuela and its designs on Greenland during a heated CNN interview. He argued that American military presence grants the United States authority over Venezuela's future, while challenging Denmark's territorial claim to the Arctic island.

In a tense exchange with host Jake Tapper, Miller justified the US military operation on January 3 that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. "Damn straight we did," he declared when pressed on the invasion and arrest. He framed the move as essential to stop "tin-pot communist dictators" from sending drugs, weapons, and criminals into the US.

Miller asserted that US troops stationed outside Venezuela put Washington in command, allowing it to dictate terms for the country's transition. President Trump announced on Saturday that the US would lead Venezuela until a handover, appointing Vice President Delcy Rodríguez as interim leader despite her ties to Maduro's regime. When Tapper questioned why opposition figure María Corina Machado a Nobel Peace Prize laureate was overlooked, Miller dismissed her outright, calling the idea "absurd and grotesque" and claiming expert consensus against it.

On Greenland, Miller championed Trump's aggressive stance toward the Danish territory, echoing his wife Katie Miller's social media post overlaying the US flag on the island with the caption "SOON." He scoffed at suggestions of military resistance, stating no one would fight the US over it. "By what right does Denmark claim control of Greenland?" Miller asked, insisting the island "obviously" belongs to the United States for NATO security interests, which he described as official US government policy.

Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen pushed back sharply, warning that any US military action against Greenland would end NATO and eight decades of transatlantic security ties. "If the United States chooses to go to war with another NATO member, then everything stops," she told Danish broadcaster TV2. The Danish ambassador to the US urged full respect for the Kingdom of Denmark's territorial integrity.