After Venezuela, which countries does Trump have his sights on?

The United States' dramatic overnight raid in Caracas to seize Venezuela's president and his wife from their heavily fortified compound was not a message only meant for the South American nation. It was a signal that Trump's second term would be defined by an imperial foreign policy and unapologetic American supremacy.

Describing the operation to reporters, Trump revived the 1823 Monroe Doctrine, reframing it as the "Donroe Doctrine" and reaffirming Washington's claim to dominance in the western hemisphere. 

The raid was quickly followed by a flurry of warnings, insults and threats aimed at other countries, all now watching Washington with unease. 

Cuba 'looks like it's going down'

Just 90 miles from Florida, Cuba remains under US sanctions dating back to the early 1960s. 

The island's economy has been closely tied to Venezuela, which supplied roughly 30% of its oil in exchange for Cuban doctors and medics. With Nicolás Maduro now gone, Havana faces acute vulnerability if that supply collapses.

Trump suggested military action would be unnecessary. "I don't think we need any action," he said. "It looks like it's going down." He added, "Cuba now has no income… They got all their income from Venezuela, from Venezuelan oil."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants and a long-time advocate of regime change, struck a warning note of his own. "If I lived in Havana, and I was in the government, I'd be concerned — at least a little bit," he told journalists. "When the president speaks, you should take him seriously," BBC quoted him as saying.

Colombia 'run by a sick man'

Only hours after the Venezuela operation, Trump turned his attention westward. He warned Colombian President Gustavo Petro to "watch his a**", a remark that underlined how far relations have deteriorated with what was once Washington's closest regional ally.

Colombia is rich in oil and minerals including gold, silver, emeralds, platinum and coal, and remains a central node in the cocaine trade. Since September, the US has been striking boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, claiming that they were carrying drugs. This has fuelled a spiralling dispute with Petro's left-wing government.

In October, Washington imposed sanctions on Petro, accusing him of allowing cartels to "flourish". Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump escalated further, describing Colombia as being "run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the US". 

"He's not going to be doing it for very long," Trump added. 

Asked if the US would carry out an operation targeting Colombia, he replied, "It sounds good to me." The rhetoric marks a stark reversal in a country that has received hundreds of millions of dollars in US military aid in the war on drugs.

'Have to do something' about Mexican cartels

Trump's political ascent in 2016 was built on his promise to "Build the Wall" along the US–Mexico border. 

Describing the operation to reporters, Trump revived the 1823 Monroe Doctrine, reframing it as the 'Donroe Doctrine' and reaffirming Washington's claim to dominance in the western hemisphere.

On his first day back in office in 2025, he signed an executive order renaming the Gulf of Mexico the "Gulf of America", a symbolic move that set the tone for renewed confrontation.

He has repeatedly accused Mexican authorities of failing to curb drug trafficking and illegal immigration.

On Sunday, he said drugs were "pouring" through Mexico and warned that "we're gonna have to do something", describing the cartels as "very strong". 

Trump has offered to deploy US troops to fight cartels, an idea firmly rejected by Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has ruled out any foreign military action on Mexican soil.

'Need Greenland for national security' 

Trump's interest in Greenland is not new, but it has grown sharper and more explicit after the Caracas raid. 

The US already operates the Pituffik Space Base on the vast Arctic island, yet Trump now wants the entire territory. "We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security," he told journalists, warning that the region was "covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place", BBC quoted Trump as saying.

Greenland, part of the Kingdom of Denmark, lies about 2,000 miles north-east of the US and is rich in rare earth minerals essential for smartphones, electric vehicles and military hardware, an area where China currently outpaces American production. Its strategic value is set to increase as melting polar ice opens new Arctic shipping routes.

But the idea has been firmly rejected in Nuuk. 

Greenland's Prime Minister Jens Frederik Nielsen dismissed US control as a "fantasy", saying, "No more pressure. No more insinuations. No more fantasies of annexation. We are open to dialogue. We are open to discussions. But this must happen through the proper channels and with respect for international law." 

Any attempt to seize Greenland would place the US in direct conflict with Denmark and, by extension, NATO itself.

Iran will be 'hit very hard' if protesters killed

Trump has also sharpened his tone towards Iran, which is currently facing mass anti-government protests. He warned that Iranian authorities would be "hit very hard" if more protesters were killed. "We're watching it very closely," he told reporters on Air Force One.

Although Iran lies outside the geographic scope of the "Donroe Doctrine", Trump has previously shown a willingness to act. Last year, the US struck Iranian nuclear facilities following an Israeli operation aimed at dismantling Tehran's nuclear capabilities, culminating in a 12-day Israel-Iran conflict.

Iran reportedly dominated discussions when Trump met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago last week. US media said Netanyahu raised the possibility of new strikes in 2026, a prospect that suggests Iran remains firmly in Washington's crosshairs.