President Trump is signaling the U.S. plans to be much more aggressive spreading its influence in the western half of the world following the operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
The president's foreign policy focus in the Western Hemisphere has been almost exclusively on Venezuela for months as he faced off with Maduro and oversaw dozens of strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and East Pacific.
But the administration has quickly shown in the days since Maduro's arrest that it's eyeing changes beyond just one country, with Trump repeatedly targeting Cuba, Colombia and Mexico, railing against the communist regime in the first and drug cartels operating in the latter two.
"This is our hemisphere," the State Department said in a poster shared Monday on the social platform X.
Trump, in issuing threats to various countries while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday night, warned the U.S. would take action on drug trafficking if foreign leaders don't.
"You have to do something with Mexico. We're going to have to do something. We'd love Mexico to do it, they're capable of doing it, but unfortunately the cartels are very strong in Mexico," Trump said, calling on Mexico to "get their act together."
He suggested he's open to the possibility of a military operation against Colombia over his accusations of drugs being smuggled from the South American country into the U.S.
And he said he believes Cuba is "ready to fall" after Maduro's ouster, citing the difficult economic situation facing the country that he believes will get tougher.
Hanging over all of it is Trump's renewed push to acquire Greenland, a semiautonomous territory controlled by Denmark, citing national security and threats he says are posed by China and Russia.
Trump has put a deadline on the topic, telling reporters, "We'll worry about Greenland in about two months. Let's talk about Greenland in 20 days."
White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller ramped up the rhetoric Monday evening during an interview on CNN, saying, "Nobody's going to fight the United States militarily over the future of Greenland."
All of these proposals seem to fall under what Trump has coined his "Donroe Doctrine," an updated version of the two-century-old Monroe Doctrine. President James Monroe developed his foreign policy doctrine in 1823 to declare that North and South America were off-limits to further intervention by European powers, preventing the expansion of their colonial empires.
But the doctrine has since been invoked to also declare a sphere of influence for the U.S. of the Americas without external interference, and Trump seems to be leaning into that idea.
The leaders of the countries Trump has named have pushed back on the president's comments and decried the operation to capture Maduro as violating another country's sovereignty.
The Cuban government blasted what it called "blatant imperialist and fascist aggression with objectives of domination." Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen called Trump's remarks "absolutely unacceptable" and "disrespectful."
This is far from the first instance of Trump criticizing the U.S.'s neighbors and setting his sights on acquiring Greenland, but it's his most serious threat yet at flexing U.S. power to shape the hemisphere as he sees fit.
▪ The Hill: Trump signals U.S. power flex.
▪ The Hill: The Memo: U.S. signals imperialist muscle.
GOP GATHERS AMID DIVISIONS: Trump is meeting with House Republicans later this morning, reportedly to discuss legislative plans for the year. But it will be a key opportunity for the president to speak to a friendly crowd as he sets his sights on the rest of his term.
Trump's plans for Venezuela and other countries are causing a split within his conservative base, with many wary of the idea of long-term U.S. involvement in other countries' affairs.
Their concerns call back to the days of the 2000s and 2010s with the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, which were slammed at the time as "forever wars" by Trump and his allies. Trump first ran for office in 2016 pledging to end this type of U.S. foreign policy.
Republicans have so far been mostly supportive of the U.S. operation to capture Maduro, but Trump's openness to a more extensive campaign within Venezuela is farther than many on the right want to go.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) pointed the finger at his colleague, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), as the main instigator in changing Trump's foreign policy stance. Graham has said the communist Cuban government may fall next.
The Hill's Al Weaver reports the possibility of putting U.S. boots on the ground in Venezuela is receiving a frosty reception from conservatives, who warn Trump is risking a key campaign promise of keeping the country out of foreign conflicts.
Miller, whom Trump has mentioned as one of a few officials involved in overseeing Venezuela, told CNN on Monday that the U.S. is running Venezuela "by definition."
Administration officials briefed top House and Senate lawmakers from both parties on Monday night, revealing Trump has approved Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to serve as the country's leader for now. Rodríguez has been formally appointed the interim president.
But the briefing left lawmakers wondering what comes next.
Members said officials indicated elections in Venezuela are eventually the goal, though Trump ruled out them taking place within the country's constitutionally mandated 30-day period.
Following the briefing, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) denied the U.S. is at war with Venezuela, saying armed forces aren't occupying the country. He and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) had earlier argued that the operation didn't require prior authorization from Congress.
The briefing included the "Gang of Eight," made up of Republican and Democratic leadership of both parties and the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate Intelligence committees, as well as top members of the Armed Services and foreign affairs committees.
Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who serve as the chair and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, respectively, protested their exclusion from the briefing after Trump officials argued Maduro's capture was a law enforcement operation.
Trump has downplayed the likelihood of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado becoming the leader of the country, saying she "doesn't have the support" of the people.
The New York Times reported Trump made the decision not to back Machado in light of a souring relationship between her and Trump officials. U.S. intelligence had also determined that the opposition would have trouble leading the country.
Machado seemed to try to appeal directly to Trump during an appearance on Fox News on Monday night and even offered to give him her Nobel Peace Prize.
"Because this is the prize of the Venezuelan people, certainly we want to give it to him and share it with him," she told host Sean Hannity.
Machado said she hasn't spoken with Trump since October, when she dedicated the prize to him.
▪ The Hill: Republicans worried about prospect of Trump's nation-building.
▪ The Hill: Toppling of Maduro leaves cloud of uncertainty for Latin America.
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