Which countries could be targeted by Trump after Venezuela?

2026-01-06 08:02:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

US President Donald Trump's second term is being shaped by his foreign policy ambitions.

He has made good on his threats against Venezuela by capturing its president and his wife from their heavily fortified compound in Caracas.

When describing the operation, Trump rejected the 1823 Monroe Doctrine and its promise of US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere, renaming it the "Donroe Doctrine."

Here are some of the warnings he has made against other nations in recent days.

Greenland

The US already has a military base in Greenland - Pituffik Space Base - but Trump wants the entire island.

"We need Greenland from a national security standpoint," he told reporters, saying the region was "covered with Russian and Chinese ships everywhere."

The vast Arctic island, part of the Kingdom of Denmark, is located approximately 3,200 km northeast of the USA.

It is rich in rare earth minerals, which are essential for the production of smartphones, electric vehicles, and military equipment. Currently, China's production of rare earth metals is much larger than that of the United States.

Greenland also occupies a key strategic location in the North Atlantic, giving it access to the increasingly important Arctic Circle. As the polar ice melts in the coming years, new shipping routes are expected to open up.

Greenland's Prime Minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, responded to Trump by describing the idea of ??US control over the island as a "fantasy."

"Enough with the pressure. Enough with the insinuations. Enough with the annexation fantasy. We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussions. But this must happen through the proper channels and with respect for international law," he said.

Colombia

Just hours after the operation in Venezuela, Trump warned Colombian President Gustavo Petro to "be careful."

Venezuela's western neighbor, Colombia, has significant oil reserves and is a major producer of gold, silver, emeralds, platinum, and coal.

It is also a key hub for the drug trade in the region - especially cocaine.

Since the US began raiding ships in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific in September - saying, without evidence, that they were transporting drugs - Trump has been embroiled in a spiraling dispute with the country's left-wing president.

The US imposed sanctions on Petros in October, saying he was allowing cartels to "flourish".

Speaking aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said Colombia was being "run by a sick man who likes to produce cocaine and sell it to the United States."

"He won't be doing this for a long time," he said. Asked if the US would carry out an operation targeting Colombia, Trump replied: "Sounds good to me."

Historically, Colombia has been a close ally in Washington's war on drugs, receiving hundreds of millions of dollars each year in military aid to fight the cartels.

Iran

Iran is currently facing massive anti-government protests, and Trump warned overnight that authorities there would be "hit very hard" if more protesters died.

"We're watching it closely. If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they're going to be hit very hard by the United States," he told reporters on Air Force One.

Theoretically, Iran falls outside the scope of the "Donroe Doctrine," but Trump has previously threatened the Iranian regime with further action after striking its nuclear facilities last year.

These attacks came after Israel launched a large-scale operation aimed at destroying Iran's ability to develop a nuclear weapon, which culminated in the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict.

At a meeting at Mar-a-Lago between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, Iran was said to be at the top of the agenda. US media also reported that Netanyahu raised the possibility of new attacks on Iran in 2026.

Mexico

Trump's rise to power in 2016 was defined by his calls to "Build the Wall" along the southern border with Mexico.

On his first day back in office in 2025, he signed an executive order to rename the Gulf of Mexico "Gulf of America."

He has often claimed that Mexican authorities are not doing enough to stop the flow of drugs or illegal immigrants into the US.

Speaking on Sunday, he said drugs were "coming fast" through Mexico and "we're going to have to do something," adding that the cartels there were "very strong."

Mexico's President, Claudia Sheinbaum, has publicly rejected any US military action on Mexican soil.

Cuba

The island nation, just 145 km south of Florida, has been under US sanctions since the early 1960s. It maintained close relations with Nicolás Maduro's Venezuela.

Trump suggested on Sunday that US military intervention there was not necessary because Cuba is "ready to fall."

"I don't think we need any action," he said. "It looks like it's getting worse."

"I don't know if they will resist, but Cuba now has no income," he added.

"They got all their income from Venezuela, from Venezuelan oil."

Venezuela reportedly supplies roughly 30% of Cuba's oil, leaving Havana exposed if supplies drop with Maduro's departure.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is the son of Cuban immigrants, has long called for regime change in Cuba, telling reporters on Saturday: "If I lived in Havana and was in government, I would be concerned, at least a little bit."

"When the president speaks, you have to take him seriously," he said. / CNA