Trump Suggests Takeover Of Greenland, Colombia, Cuba After Maduro Ouster

President Donald Trump is threatening an American takeover of Greenland, Colombia, and Cuba, just a day after a U.S. military operation in Venezuela that led to the ouster of President Nicolás Maduro, per HuffPost.

The remarks from Trump and his administration mark an aggressive push to expand U.S. influence across the Western Hemisphere. Last month, Trump's administration released the National Security Strategy, calling for the restoration of “American preeminence in the Western Hemisphere.” Trump has repeatedly cited the Monroe Doctrine and the Roosevelt Corollary to justify a more forceful regional posture, joking that some now call it the “Don-roe Doctrine.”

Asked whether the Venezuela operation could foreshadow action elsewhere, Trump said Sunday (January 4) of Greenland, “They are going to have to view it themselves. I really don’t know.”

“It’s so strategic right now. Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One. “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen pushed back against Trump's comments, saying the president has “no right to annex” the territory and noting that Denmark already grants the U.S. broad access through NATO security agreements.

“I would therefore strongly urge the U.S. to stop threatening a historically close ally and another country and people who have made it very clear that they are not for sale,” Frederiksen said.

Denmark also joined a European Union statement emphasizing that “the right of the Venezuelan people to determine their future must be respected,” after Trump vowed to “run” Venezuela and urged acting President Delcy Rodríguez to cooperate.

Trump has repeatedly refused to rule out using military force to gain control of Greenland. After naming Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry as a special envoy to the island, the Republican said he would help Trump “make Greenland a part of the U.S.”

The president and Secretary of State Marco Rubio also issued a warning to Cuba, whose officials the administration claims were closely involved in protecting Maduro.

“It was Cubans that guarded Maduro,” Rubio said on NBC's "Meet the Press." “He was not guarded by Venezuelan bodyguards. He had Cuban bodyguards.”

Cuba said 32 of its officers were killed during the U.S. operation. Trump said Cuba’s economy, already weakened by decades of U.S. sanctions, would deteriorate further without subsidized Venezuelan oil.

“It’s going down,” Trump said. “It’s going down for the count.”

Trump has also set his sights on Colombia and its leftist president, Gustavo Petro, accusing him of ties to the cocaine trade. The administration sanctioned Petro and his family in October over alleged involvement in drug trafficking.

“[Colombia is] run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States,” Trump said.

“He’s not going to be doing it for very long,” he added of Petro. “He has cocaine mills and cocaine factories. He’s not going to be doing it.”

Asked whether he might order a military operation against Colombia, Trump replied, “It sounds good to me.”

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