Which land has Trump tried to buy? President 'wants Chagos Islands'
Following Greenland and Canada fall out, US president now wants to take islands from Mauritius
Donald Trump is reportedly considering buying the Chagos Islands from Mauritius, having previously tried to acquire Greenland from Denmark for the US.
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The US president is reportedly hatching a plan to move in amid Sir Keir Starmer's intention to cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius, an ally of China and Iran.
Mr Trump had been critical of the UK for being slow to back him over using the base to aid American flights to Iran, and called surrendering the Chagos Islands act of "great stupidity".
Mauritius has repeatedly challenged Britain’s ownership of the Chagos Islands in the international courts, but a transition agreement has not been finalised.
Efforts to secure further land for the US have been a theme of Mr Trump's second term and here are his efforts, so far, to try and grow his international influence.
Read also: Chagos Islands deal delayed as US opposition stalls UK legislation
Read also: Chagos handover deal 'on hold' after Trump slammed it as 'act of great stupidity'
Which countries has Donald Trump tried to buy or said he could invade?
The Chagos Islands has been the latest overseas land that the Trump administration has reportedly been setting its sights on, but it follows a serious takeover bid for Greenland as well as semi-serious talks around Panama, Gaza and Cuba, and a (probable) jibe about Canada.
Greenland
Mr Trump had offered to buy and failed to rule out invading Greenland, but the issue has gone quiet for the time being, despite his deputy JD Vance visiting the Danish territory.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio most recently told Congress that Greenland is part of Denmark "for now".
Denmark has repeatedly said that Greenland is not for sale.
Panama
Mr Rubio has told Panama's president that he must stop the alleged Chinese influence over the canal - or face the consequences.
Mr Trump had said China's alleged presence in the Panama Canal violates the treaty signed by Panama in 1999, which turned the waterway over to Panama from American control, and called for permanent neutrality.
Gaza
In February 2025, Mr Trump said the US could "take over" and "own" Gaza, forcing its citizens to resettle.
He said: "If we could find the right piece of land, pieces of land, and build them some really nice places, I think that would be a lot better than going back to Gaza."
It would be the "Riviera of the Middle East," he added.
Gazans have slammed Mr Trump’s comments, telling the US President to “go to hell".
Cuba
In May, it was predicted that Mr Trump was about to invade Cuba after he said in March that he believes he will have the “honour of taking Cuba”.
He said: “I think Cuba sees the end. You know, all my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba, when will the United States do it?
“I do believe I’ll have the honour of taking Cuba – that’s a big honour."
Canada
Mr Trump has been locked in a feud with his Canadian counterpart, Mark Carney, stating that he would be unable to get a trade deal with China and has withdrawn its membership of the Board of Peace.
Mr Carney strongly denied that Canada would become a US state, saying it would "never" be for sale, despite Mr Trump making noises of it becoming the 51st in the US.
Which overseas territories does the US own?
The United States has five additional insular areas and nine smaller islands that have no permanent population.
None of these are considered to be US states, although Hawaii and Alaska (not on this list) are - despite being away from the mainland.
Overseas territories
Permanently inhabited overseas territories are under US sovereignty, but their populations do not vote in presidential elections and are exempt from the Washington constitution.
These are:
- Puerto Rico,
- Guam,
- American Samoa,
- US Virgin Islands,
- Northern Mariana Islands
All of the populations of these territories are considered to be US citizens, apart from American Samoans, who are US nationals and would need to go through a naturalisation process to become a citizen, but they can travel freely.
US insular areas
These are all islands with no permanent populations that are useful to the US for providing a small military base.
- Pacific: Midway Atoll, Wake Island, Palmyra Atoll, Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, and Kingman Reef,
- Caribbean: Navassa Island