Donald Trump stunned the international stage when he initiated a takeover of Venezuela over the weekend – but this could just be the beginning.
The US president initiated military strikes against the South American country on Saturday and captured its president, Nicolas Maduro, before indicting him on narco-terrorism charges.
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Trump has since promised to “run” Venezuela until a safe transition of power can take place.
The US president has also made it clear that he wants to expand America’s president internationally, and revive the 19th-Century idea known as the Monroe Doctrine, designed to keep Europe out of the Western Hemisphere.
He said his modern-day equivalent would be called the “Don-roe Doctrine” and establish US dominance over the whole hemisphere, backed by military strength.
He has repeatedly threatened to take action against other territories, both in South America and outside of it, particularly those run by leftist governments.
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While UK prime minister Keir Starmer’s top team insists the idea of Trump seizing other countries is just “hypothetical”, the US president has openly been welcoming the idea of initiating action against other countries.
Here’s what you need to know.
Colombia
Speaking on Monday, Trump said: “Colombia is very sick too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States and he’s going to be doing it good for very long, let me tell you.”
Asked if that meant there would be a US operation into Colombia, he said: “Sounds good to me.”
It comes after Trump told his cabinet in December that military strikes on land targets inside Venezuela would “start very soon”.
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As he claimed any country producing narcotics could be a potential target, he called out Colombia – even though the nation has been working with the US government for decades on its war on drugs.
Trump said Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro had to “watch his ass”.
Petro has already been slapped with sanctions by the US administration following claims that he has been involved with the global drug trade.
But Petro warned the White House: “To threaten our sovereignty is to declare war; do not damage two centuries of diplomatic relations.”
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He added: “I deeply reject Trump speaking without knowing; my name does not appear in the judicial files on drug trafficking over 50 years, neither from before nor from the present.”
Trump’s comments could also have been related to the upcoming presidential elections in Colombia, where leftist Petro will be prevented from running again, according to the constitution – so the US might back a right-wing candidate.
Greenland
Trump has long had his eye on Greenland for its advantageous location and its untapped oil supplies.
But, as part of Denmark, it is Nato territory – meaning Trump could run into major trouble if he attempts to seize it.
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The US president told The Atlantic on Sunday: “We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defence.”
Former Trump administrational official Katie Miller also posted a map of Greenland on social media covered with the US flag, along with the caption: “SOON.”
But Danish PM Mette Frederiksen said Trump has “no right to annex” the land, and the States already has access to Greenland through security agreements.
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She said: “I would therefore strongly urge the US to stop threatening a historically close ally and another country and people who have made it very clear that they are not for sale.”
Prime minister Starmer has already made it clear that he stands with Denmark if Trump attempts to move against it.
He said: “Denmark is a close ally in Europe, it is a Nato ally, and it’s very important the future of Greenland is, as I say, for the Kingdom of Denmark, and for Greenland, and only for Greenland and the Kingdom of Denmark.”
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Other European leaders have also followed suit in backing Denmark.
Cuba
Cuba is under a particularly microscope within the Trump administration especially after US officials claimed Cuban bodyguards were protecting Maduro when he was captured.
Cuba also admitted 32 of its officers were killed in Trump’s military strikes.
Trump told reporters: ”[Cuba] is going down. It’s going down for the count.”
US Secretary of state Marco Rubio claimed the country is “run by incompetent, senile men, and in some cases not seen now, but incompetent nonetheless.”
Rubio – the son of Cuban immigrants – adding: “If I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I’d be concerned at least a little bit.”
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Cuba has been under US sanctions since its revolution in 1959, and according to Trump, its already struggling economy will face further upheaval without subsidized oil from Venezuela.
The country’s president, Miguel Dias-Canal has already denounced the US capture of Maduro, claiming it is “state terrorism”.
Iran
Iran is enduring a period of domestic unrest, with deadly protests rocking the whole country.
Human rights activists say protests have taken place in at least 26 of Iran’s 31 provinces in the last week, and approximately 19 protesters and one member of the security forces have been killed.
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As its economy struggles following its brief conflict with Israel last year, the public are questioning the Islamic Republic.
Trump has weighed in, promising protesters: “We’re watching it very closely. If they [Iranian authorities] start killing people like they have done in the past, I think they’re going to get hit very hard by the United States.”
“We are locked and loaded and ready to go,” he claimed.
It remains unclear exactly what action the US would take against Iran but US bombers were involved in strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities last year.
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But supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has promised Iran “will not yield to the enemy”.
Mexico
Trump also criticised Mexico after his strikes on Venezuela.
“You have to do something with Mexico. Mexico has to get their act together,” the US president said, claiming they must do more to address drug trafficking.
Trump claims to have repeatedly offered to send US troops to Mexico but that president Claudia Sheinbaum has prevented it.
He claimed that she is a “terrific person” but she is “concerned, she’s a little afraid” about military action.
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Trump also said the Mexican government is capable of addressing the issues of the drug trade, but “unfortunately the cartels are very strong in Mexico”.
According to Reuters, Shainbaum has already rejected Trump’s remarks, saying: “The Americas do not belong to any doctrine or any power. The American continent belongs to the peoples of each of the countries that comprise it.
“It is necessary to reaffirm that in Mexico, the people rule and that we are a free and sovereign country-cooperation, yes; subordination and intervention, no.”
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