Trump sketches expansionist US agenda

After Venezuela raid, US president eyes Greenland and warns Iran, Cuba

WASHINGTON:

Fresh from ordering a dramatic military raid that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, President Donald Trump spent Sunday sketching an expansive and confrontational vision of American power, vowing to "run" Venezuela, renewing a push to annex Greenland, and issuing stark warnings to Iran and Cuba.

The series of declarations, made aboard Air Force One and in media interviews, laid out a vision of direct American oversight for the oil-rich Latin American nation and issued a blunt threat to Maduro's successor with more US strikes.

"We're going to run the country" until a transition can be made, he stated, later telling The Atlantic that "rebuilding there and regime change… is better than what you have right now."

He warned if Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodriguez, a loyalist known as the tigress, "doesn't do what's right, she is going to pay a very big price, probably bigger than Maduro."

Secretary of State Marco Rubio offered a somewhat more diplomatic tone, insisting the US was fighting drug traffickers, "not a war against Venezuela," and would assess cooperation with Caracas based on actions.

Yet he confirmed a large US naval blockade would remain for "tremendous leverage" to achieve Washington's goals, chiefly access to Venezuela's vast oil reserves.

The operation drew sharp regional criticism. Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, and Spain jointly rejected the intervention and expressed "concern about any attempt at… outside appropriation of natural or strategic resources."

The spectacle of the United States seizing a foreign head of state has reignited acute anxieties in Copenhagen and Nuuk. President Trump has long coveted Greenland for its strategic Arctic location and mineral resources, and on Sunday he doubled down.

"We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it," Trump told reporters, adding, "We'll worry about Greenland in about two months."

His comments followed an interview with The Atlantic where he said, "We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defence." The sentiment was provocatively amplified by Katie Miller, wife of top Trump adviser Stephen Miller, who posted an image of Greenland in US flag colours with the caption: "SOON."

The response from Europe was swift, firm, and unified. Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the notion "absolutely absurd" and urged the US to stop "threatening its historical ally."

Greenland Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen declared, "Enough is enough… No more fantasies about annexation." He labelled Miller's post "disrespectful" but sought to calm public concern.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has generally been cautious in criticising Trump, broke ranks to state clearly, "The future for Greenland is for Greenland [and] the Kingdom of Denmark. I stand with [Frederiksen]."

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul affirmed Greenland belongs to Denmark, suggesting NATO discuss its protection. The European Commission reiterated its commitment to national sovereignty.

From the same Air Force One press gaggle, President Trump delivered pointed messages to other longstanding adversaries.

He claimed "a lot of Cubans were killed" during the Venezuela raid, referring to security personnel Havana had stationed to support Maduro. He then predicted Cuba's collapse without Venezuelan oil subsidies: "Cuba is ready to fall… I don't think we need any action. It looks like it's going down."

Turning to Iran, where protests have entered a second week, Trump issued a stark deterrent: "We're watching it very closely. If they start killing people… I think they're going to get hit very hard by the United States."

The events of the past 48 hours reveal a consistent thread in Trump's foreign policy: the open application of raw power to secure immediate national interests. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed concern over the US strikes.

Guterres voiced this concern during a United Nations Security Council meeting convened to discuss the Venezuela crisis. Guterres stated that the US attacks in Venezuela on January 3 and the arrest of Maduro violated international law and the United Nations Charter.

Back in Caracas, the Venezuela's capital, around 2,000 supporters of Maduro demonstrated in the city accompanied by a group of pro-Maduro paramilitaries and bikers to demand that he and his wife be released. The demonstrators waved red, blue and yellow Venezuelan flags.

Maduro's son Nicolas Maduro Guerra also voiced suspicion about the presence of spies in his father's entourage in an audio message shared on social media on Sunday. "History will tell who the traitors were," he said.

Acting President Delcy Rodriguez, meanwhile, created a commission to seek the release of Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Rodriguez tapped her brother Jorge, president of the National Assembly, and Foreign Minister Yvan Gil to co-chair the commission. Information Minister Freddy Nanez will also be on the commission, he said in the announcement.