After Maduro, Who’s Next? Trump Spurs Speculation About His Plans For Greenland, Cuba And Colombia

WASHINGTON (AP) — One day after the incident USA’s brave military operation in Venezuela, President Donald Trump On Sunday he repeated his call for the American takeover of Danish territory. Greenland Its top diplomat declared a communist government, while threatening military action against Colombia for the sake of U.S. security interests and for facilitating global cocaine sales. Cuba “in trouble”.

Trump’s comments and Secretary of State Marco Rubio after dismissal Venezuelan Nicolás Maduro underlines that the US administration is serious about taking on a broader role in the Western Hemisphere.

Trump is shaking hemispheric friends and foes alike with veiled threats, prompting a relevant worldwide question: Who’s next?

“It’s very strategic right now. Everywhere in Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships,” Trump told reporters while returning to Washington from his home in Florida. “We need Greenland for national security, and Denmark won’t be able to do that.”

In an interview with The Atlantic earlier Sunday, Trump responded to a question about what U.S. military action in Venezuela might mean for Greenland: “They’ll have to see for themselves. I really don’t know.”

Trump in his own administration National Security Strategy That document, released last month, laid out restoring “America’s preeminence in the Western Hemisphere” as a central guide for his second trip to the White House.

Trump also pointed out 19th century Monroe Doctrinerejecting European colonialism, but also Roosevelt’s Conclusions – A justification put forward by the United States to support Panama’s secession from Colombia; this helped secure the Panama Canal Zone for the United States – as it took an assertive approach to American neighbors and beyond.

Trump even joked that some now call the fifth US president’s foundational document the “Don-roe Doctrine.”

The midnight operation by US forces in Caracas on Saturday and Trump’s comments on Sunday raised concerns in Denmark, which has jurisdiction over the vast mineral-rich island of Greenland.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen Trump’s statement that he “does not have the right to annex” the region. He also reminded Trump that Denmark, already a member of NATO, provides the United States with extensive access to Greenland through existing security agreements.

“Therefore, I strongly recommend that the United States stop threatening a historically close ally, another country, and people who have made it clear that they are not for sale,” Frederiksen said.

Denmark on Sunday also signed a European Union declaration stressing that “the right of the Venezuelan people to determine their future must be respected” as Trump vowed to “govern” Venezuela and put pressure on the acting president. Delcy Rodriguez line up.

Trump on Sunday mocked Denmark’s efforts to strengthen Greenland’s national security posture, saying the Danes had added “another dog sled” to the Arctic region’s arsenal.

Greenlanders and Danes were further outraged by a post on social media following pressure from Katie Miller, a former Trump administration official and podcaster. The post shows an illustrated map of Greenland in Stars and Stripes colors and the caption “Coming Soon.”

“And yes, we expect full respect for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Denmark,” Amb said. Jesper Møller Sørensen, Denmark’s chief envoy to Washington, said in a post responding to Miller, who is married to Trump’s influential deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller.

During presidential transition In the first months of his return to the White House, Trump repeatedly claimed and made clear U.S. jurisdiction over Greenland. military force was not ignored To take control of a mineral-rich, strategically located Arctic island belonging to an ally.

This issue has largely disappeared from the headlines in recent months. Trump then turned the spotlight back to Greenland, saying he would appoint Republicans less than two weeks ago. Governor Jeff Landry As special envoy to Greenland.

Louisiana governor says volunteer position will help Trump “make Greenland part of the United States”

Meanwhile, with Rubio publishing a new report, concerns are increasing in Cuba, one of Venezuela’s most important allies and trade partners. stern warning To the Cuban government. US-Cuba relations have been hostile since the 1959 Cuban revolution.

Rubio said that Cuban officials participating in NBC’s “Meet the Press” program were with Maduro in Venezuela before he was captured.

“Those who protected Maduro were Cubans,” Rubio said. “He wasn’t protected by Venezuelan bodyguards. He had Cuban bodyguards.” The foreign minister added that Cuban guards are also responsible for “internal intelligence” in Maduro’s government, which includes “surveilling who is who inside to make sure there are no traitors.”

The Cuban government said in a statement read on state television Sunday evening: 32 police officers were killed In a US military operation.

Trump said the Cuban economy, battered by years of US embargo, is in tatters and will now get worse with the ouster of Maduro, who has been providing subsidized oil to the Caribbean island.

“It’s falling,” Trump said of Cuba. “Down for the count.”

As Trump returned to Washington on Sunday evening, he also drew attention to Venezuela’s neighbor Colombia and its leftist president Gustavo Petro.

In a back-and-forth conversation with reporters, Trump said Colombia was “run by a sick man who likes to make cocaine and sell it to the United States.”

Trump administration began imposing sanctions in October Oilhis family and a member of his government over accusations that they were involved in the global drug trade. Colombia is considered the epicenter of the world cocaine trade.

Trump began his months-long pressure campaign on Maduro by ordering dozens of deadly attacks on drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean, allegedly launched from Venezuela. He eventually expanded operations to target suspicious ships from Colombia in the Eastern Pacific.

In September, the USA added Colombia, the country that benefits most from American aid in the region, to its list of countries. non-cooperation in the drug war for the first time in almost 30 years. This appointment led to the cessation of US aid to the country.

“He’s not going to do this for very long,” Trump said of Petro on Sunday. “There are cocaine factories and cocaine factories. He’s not going to do this.”

When asked if he would order the US to launch an operation against Colombia, Trump replied, “Sounds good to me.”

AP writers Andrea Rodriguez in Havana, Cuba, and Darlene Superville, traveling aboard Air Force One, contributed reporting.