Trump calls the UK-Chagos Islands deal “great stupidity”
Donald Trump’s criticism of the UK’s intentions for the Chagos Islands causes political blowback while Mauritius’s sovereignty transfer proceeds.
Donald Trump has called the UK government’s decision to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius “an act of GREAT STUPIDITY” and criticized it. The former US president voiced concern about plans to relinquish sovereignty while leasing back the Diego Garcia naval site for ongoing UK-US use in a post on his Truth Social platform.
Trump described Diego Garcia as the location of a “vital US Military Base” and asserted that the idea jeopardizes US strategic interests. He said that his proposals for the US to increase its territorial dominance abroad and his more general worries about international security arrangements were informed by the agreement.
Nigel Farage, a longtime opponent of the deal and leader of Reform UK, praised the intervention, claiming that Trump had essentially “vetoed the surrender” of the islands.
After decades of disagreement over the territory’s status, the UK and Mauritius reached an accord last year. According to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, the agreement calls for Britain to lease Diego Garcia for 99 years at a stated yearly cost of £101 million.
Before Mauritius gained its independence, the Chagos Islands were split off from the island nation in 1965. Mauritius has always maintained that this separation was illegal. Many of the thousands of Chagossians who were forcibly displaced to make way for the US military facility currently reside in Mauritius, the Seychelles, and the United Kingdom.
