President Donald Trump renewed calls for U.S. control of Greenland on Sunday, the day after U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela, while also warning Cuba and threatening Colombia. In comments delivered to reporters and in an interview referenced by The Atlantic, Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio tied the Venezuela operation to what they described as the next phase of U.S. policy in the Western Hemisphere.
As Trump returned to Washington from his home in Florida, he told reporters that Greenland is “muy estratégica en este momento” because “Groenlandia está cubierta de barcos rusos y chinos por todas partes.” He said the United States “Necesitamos Groenlandia desde el punto de vista de la seguridad nacional” and added, “Dinamarca no va a poder hacerlo,” according to the Associated Press report.
When asked by The Atlantic during an interview earlier on Sunday what the Venezuela action might mean for Greenland, Trump said, “Ellos van a tener que verlo por sí mismos. Realmente no lo sé.” The AP report also said his administration’s National Security Strategy, published the previous month, called for restoring what it described as U.S. “preeminencia … en el hemisferio occidental,” and that Trump has referenced the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine and the Roosevelt Corollary in explaining a more assertive posture toward neighbors in the region and beyond.
Denmark, which has jurisdiction over Greenland, responded as Trump’s remarks spread. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement that Trump “no tiene derecho a anexar” the territory, and she said Denmark already provides the United States—both NATO allies—broad access to Greenland through existing security arrangements.
Frederiksen also urged the United States to stop threatening a close ally and a people who “han dejado muy claro que no están en venta.” The AP report said Denmark also signed a European Union declaration emphasizing that “el derecho del pueblo venezolano a determinar su futuro debe ser respetado” as Trump pressed for Caracas to align with Washington after promising to “dirigir” Venezuela and pressuring interim leader Delcy Rodríguez.
The AP report described further irritation among Danes and Greenlanders after Trump mocked Denmark’s response on Sunday, saying Denmark had added “un trineo de perros más” to Greenland’s Arctic security arsenal. It said the controversy intensified following a social media post from Katie Miller, a former Trump administration official who is now a podcaster, showing an illustrated map of Greenland with U.S. flag colors and the caption “Pronto.”
In a reply, Denmark’s ambassador in Washington, Jesper Møller Sørensen, wrote that he expected “pleno respeto por la integridad territorial del Reino de Dinamarca.” The AP report said Trump has repeatedly called for U.S. jurisdiction over Greenland since his transition and return to the White House, and it noted that he had renewed the issue less than two weeks earlier when he said he would name Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry as a special envoy for Greenland. Landry, the AP report said, said he would help Trump “hacer de Groenlandia una parte de Estados Unidos.”
Attention also shifted to Cuba after Rubio’s warning to Havana. During an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Rubio said Cuban officials were with Maduro before his capture, and the AP report quoted him saying, “Eran cubanos los que custodiaban a Maduro” and “Tenía guardaespaldas cubanos.” The report also said Rubio described the Cuban bodyguards as responsible for what he called the Maduro government’s “inteligencia interna,” including “quién espía a quién dentro, para asegurarse de que no haya traidores.”
In response, Cuba said in a statement read on state television that 32 people died in the U.S. military operation in Venezuela, according to the AP report. Trump, the report said, argued that Cuba’s economy—stressed by years of U.S. embargo—was already in ruins and would fall further after Maduro was removed, saying of Cuba: “Va a caer” and “Va a caer definitivamente.”
The AP report said Trump also warned Colombia as he returned to Washington, speaking about President Gustavo Petro in harsh terms. Trump told reporters Colombia is “dirigida por un hombre enfermo” whom he said likes “hacer cocaína y venderla a Estados Unidos,” and he warned that Petro would not continue for long—saying “No va a hacerlo por mucho tiempo” while adding, “Tiene fábricas de cocaína. No va a estar haciéndolo.”
The report said the Trump administration has already applied pressure on Petro, including October sanctions on Petro, his family, and a member of his government for alleged participation in the global drug trade. It also said that in September the administration added Colombia to a list of nations that do not cooperate in the war on drugs, for the first time in nearly 30 years, which reduced U.S. assistance to Colombia. The AP report further said the administration began months earlier by ordering dozens of attacks against boats in the Caribbean that it said were used to transport drugs from Venezuela and later expanded operations to the Pacific east involving vessels coming from Colombia.
When asked on Sunday whether he could order the United States to carry out an operation against Colombia, Trump replied, “Me suena bien,” according to the Associated Press report.