Iran, Greenland or Cuba: Which country could be President Trump's next target after Venezuela?

 Iran, Greenland or Cuba: Which country could be President Trump's next target after Venezuela?

 

The second half of President Trump’s presidency is revealing his ambitions regarding American foreign policy, as he now appears to be following through on his threats.

The dramatic seizure of Venezuelan President Maduro and his wife from their highly secure fortress-like palace demonstrates President Trump’s aggressive ambitions.

President Trump is now also indicating that the matter will not stop here, but he has also threatened the Colombian president, saying that he should also worry about himself now, while he is expressing similar views regarding Cuba and Mexico.

After the operation against Maduro, he has referred to the ‘Monroe Doctrine’ of 1823, which ensures American supremacy in the Western Hemisphere. Trump has called this doctrine the ‘Donro Doctrine’.

Greenland

The US already has a military base in Greenland, the Pattvik Space Base. But Trump wants control of the entire island.

“We need Greenland from a national security perspective,” he told reporters. “Because this whole area is full of Russian and Chinese ships.”

Spread across the vast expanse of the Arctic, Greenland is controlled by the Kingdom of Denmark and is about 2,000 miles north of the United States.

The region is rich in rare earth minerals that are important for the production of smartphones, electric vehicles and military hardware. China's rare earth production is currently much higher than that of the United States.

Greenland is in a strategically important location in the North Atlantic. Due to climate change, the ice here is melting rapidly and new shipping routes are expected to open up in the coming years.

Greenland Prime Minister Jens Fredrik Nielsen responded to Trump by calling his idea of ​​controlling Greenland his "good sense".

He said, "There is no question of annexation or any kind of pressure, our doors are open for talks." But it should be done through the appropriate channels and with respect for international law.’

“Unfortunately, I don’t think we should take the US president seriously when he talks about acquiring Greenland,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told state broadcaster DR.

She said Denmark and Greenland have made it clear on several occasions that they do not want to be part of the US under any circumstances.

Colombia

Hours after the operation in Venezuela, Trump warned Colombian President Gustavo Petro to “watch your back.”

Venezuela’s western neighbor, Colombia, is also rich in oil reserves, as well as gold, silver, emeralds, platinum and coal mines.

It is also considered a major hub for the drug trade, especially cocaine, in the region.

The United States began a series of attacks on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific in September. US officials said without evidence that they were carrying drugs. Trump is also strongly opposed to the country’s leftist President Gustavo Petro.

The United States imposed sanctions on Gustavo Petro in October, saying he was expanding drug cartels.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, President Trump said Colombia was “run by a sick man who makes cocaine and likes to smuggle it into the United States.” He won't be able to do that for much longer.'

 

So does the US plan to take action in Colombia as well? In response to this question, President Trump said, 'I like that idea.'

Colombia has historically been a close ally of Washington in its war on drugs and also receives millions of dollars in military aid from the US annually in this regard.

Iran

The Iranian response to the action against the Venezuelan president was also notable thousands of miles away. Iranian officials, who are allies of Venezuela, condemned the move as a clear violation of international law.

What will be the consequences, message and implications of the limited US attack on Venezuela and the arrest of Maduro for the Iranian people and government? As supporters of the overthrow of the regime in Iran say on social media, ‘The countdown to Ali Khamenei’s regime has accelerated’ or, as another group says, ‘Iran will not become Venezuela?’

International affairs expert Hamidreza Azizi told BBC Persian that ‘the Trump administration is not seeking large-scale military intervention with uncertain results and is only supporting measures that have a high probability of success. For this reason, the invasion of Venezuela cannot be compared to the invasion of Iraq and the capture of Saddam Hussein.

The scale, scope, weapons and ammunition used in the invasion of Venezuela indicate that what happened was not just a military attack but an intelligence and security operation.

The US forces went to Caracas with the specific objective of arresting and removing the Venezuelan president and, having achieved that objective, returned to their country without firing a single shot.

In a report, Reuters quoted US officials as saying that CIA teams played a key role in President Maduro’s inner circle, teams that were fully aware of his lifestyle, daily routines and whereabouts.

As a result, carrying out a similar operation in Iran would likely require similar intelligence access to the highest echelons of power in the Islamic Republic.

Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeed, has written a letter to the UN Secretary-General expressing his concerns over President Trump's threats. He said that the UN should take note of President Trump's provocative statements.

Mexico

The president began his first term by starting construction on a wall on the US-Mexico border.

After returning to power in 2025, he signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

Trump claimed that Mexican authorities were not doing enough to stop the flow of drugs or illegal immigrants into the US.

In a conversation with reporters on Sunday, President Trump said that drugs were reaching the US through Mexico and “we have to do something about it.” The president said that the cartels there were very strong.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has rejected any US military action on Mexican soil.

In a statement, she said that only the Mexican people have the right to shape their future, natural resources and government and that no other country has the right to interfere in that.

She said that she completely rejects President Trump’s statement of interference in Mexico’s internal affairs.

Claudia Sheinbaum further said that the history of Latin America is witness to the fact that democracy and stability could not be restored here as a result of any kind of external intervention.

Cuba

A peninsula just 90 miles from the US state of Florida, Cuba has been under US sanctions since the early 1960s and has close ties to Nicolas Maduro.

Trump told reporters on Sunday that there was no need for US intervention there because Cuba was in decline.

“I don’t think we need to do anything there,” he said. “It seems to be going downhill. Cuba has no income now. They used to get all their income from Venezuela.”

Cuba imports 30 percent of its oil from Venezuela. If oil supplies are cut off after Maduro’s ouster, Cuba could face problems.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s parents are Cuban.

He also called for a change of government in Cuba, saying, “If I were in the capital, Havana, I would be worried.”

Marco Rubio, referring to President Trump’s conversation with the media, said, “When the president speaks, you have to take him seriously.”

The US president had confirmed that 32 Cuban security personnel had been killed during the operation in Venezuela.

A statement issued by Cuban state media on Sunday night said that Cuban soldiers and police officers were in the capital on a mission at the request of our friendly country, Venezuela. It was not clear on which mission these Cuban officers were in Venezuela.

The Cuban government has not yet responded to President Trump’s statement. However, in a statement issued by the Cuban government after the operation in Venezuela, it called it “open aggression” and stressed the unity of Latin American countries.