US President Donald Trump’s second term is rapidly taking shape around an assertive and controversial foreign policy agenda, with the dramatic US operation in Venezuela serving as its clearest signal yet.
Trump followed through on long-standing threats against Caracas by ordering the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in a daring overnight raid on their heavily fortified residence.
In justifying the action, Trump revived the 1823 Monroe Doctrine—recasting it as the “Donroe Doctrine”—to reaffirm what he described as US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere.
Since the Venezuela operation, Trump has issued pointed warnings toward several other countries, raising questions about who might be next in Washington’s crosshairs.
Greenland
Although the US already operates a military installation on Greenland—the Pituffik Space Base—Trump has made clear he wants full control of the island.
“We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security,” he said, citing what he described as increasing Russian and Chinese presence in the region.
Greenland, a vast Arctic territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, is strategically located in the North Atlantic and rich in rare earth minerals essential for smartphones, electric vehicles, and military technology. As Arctic ice melts, the island is also expected to become central to new global shipping routes.
Greenland’s Prime Minister, Jens Frederik Nielsen, firmly rejected Trump’s remarks, calling the idea of US annexation a “fantasy.”
“No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation,” Nielsen said, insisting any dialogue must respect international law.
Any attempt by the US to seize Greenland would put Washington on a collision course with Denmark, a fellow NATO member, potentially destabilising the alliance.
Colombia
Shortly after the Venezuela operation, Trump issued a blunt warning to Colombian President Gustavo Petro, telling him to “watch his ass.”
Colombia, Venezuela’s western neighbour, is resource-rich, with substantial oil reserves and major deposits of gold, silver, emeralds, platinum, and coal. It is also a central hub in the global cocaine trade.
Tensions between Washington and Bogotá have escalated since September, when the US began striking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, alleging—without public evidence—that they were carrying drugs. In October, the US imposed sanctions on Petro, accusing his government of allowing drug cartels to flourish.
Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump described Colombia as being “run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States,” adding ominously: “He’s not going to be doing it for very long.”
When asked if the US might carry out a military operation targeting Colombia, Trump replied, “It sounds good to me.”
This marks a sharp departure from decades of close US-Colombia cooperation in the war on drugs.
Iran
Iran has also drawn Trump’s attention amid ongoing mass anti-government protests.
Trump warned that Iranian authorities would be “hit very hard” if protesters continued to be killed, saying the US was “watching it very closely.”
Although Iran lies outside the geographic scope of Trump’s so-called “Donroe Doctrine,” he has repeatedly threatened Tehran. Last year, the US struck Iranian nuclear facilities following an Israeli operation aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear ambitions, triggering a 12-day Israel-Iran conflict.
Iran reportedly dominated discussions during a recent meeting between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with US media suggesting Israel raised the prospect of further strikes in 2026.
Mexico
Trump’s political rise was initially fuelled by his hardline stance on Mexico, including his “Build the Wall” campaign during his first term.
On his return to office in 2025, he signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” and has repeatedly accused Mexican authorities of failing to curb illegal immigration and drug trafficking.
“Drugs are pouring through Mexico, and we’re gonna have to do something,” Trump said on Sunday, describing Mexican drug cartels as “very strong.”
He revealed that he had offered to deploy US troops to Mexico to combat the cartels, an idea firmly rejected by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who ruled out any US military action on Mexican soil.
Cuba
Cuba, located just 90 miles south of Florida, has been under US sanctions for more than six decades and maintained close ties with Maduro’s Venezuela. In exchange for doctors and medical personnel, Caracas reportedly supplied up to 30 per cent of Cuba’s oil needs.
With Maduro removed from power, Trump suggested Havana could soon face economic collapse.
“I don’t think we need any action,” Trump said. “It looks like it’s going down.”
“They got all their income from Venezuela, from Venezuelan oil,” he added.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and a long-time advocate of regime change in Havana, reinforced the message.
“If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I’d be concerned—at least a little,” Rubio said. “When the president speaks, you should take him seriously.”
As Trump doubles down on an aggressive foreign policy posture, analysts warn that the Venezuela operation may be only the opening act in a broader campaign that could redraw geopolitical fault lines across multiple regions.
From BBC
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