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After the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Donald Trump has sent threatening messages to several other nations.
Speaking to reporters on board Air Force One on Sunday, the president signaled that the U.S. could launch military action in Colombia, which had condemned his attack on Venezuela.
Tensions between Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro have been rising in recent months, with the U.S. president describing Petro as a “very sick man” on Sunday.
- Donald Trump threatened military action against Colombia, accusing President Petro of cocaine trafficking and calling him a 'very sick man.'
- Trump claimed Cuba is 'ready to fall' due to the loss of Venezuelan oil income, but said U.S. forces won’t be necessary there.
- Mexico was urged by Trump to control drug cartels; he praised President Sheinbaum but warned the U.S. might intervene if needed.
- Trump reiterated his desire to annex Greenland for national security, prompting the Danish PM to reject U.S. threats firmly.
- Following the capture of Maduro, Trump plans to run Venezuela until a transition, with potential further strikes and an oil sector overhaul.
Donald Trump mentioned Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, and Greenland on Air Force One
Image credits: Joe Raedle/Getty Images
“Colombia is very sick,” he said. “Run by a sick man, who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States. He’s not going to be doing it very long.”
When pressed on whether his comments were indicative of an operation in Colombia, Trump replied, “Sounds good to me.”
Petro was democratically elected in 2022, with the U.S. State Department noting at the time that observers considered those elections to be free, fair, and the most peaceful in decades.
.@POTUS: “Colombia’s very sick, too, run by a sick man who likes making cocaine and selling it to the United States — and he’s not going to be doing it very long, let me tell you.” pic.twitter.com/TkstSRX4WM
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 5, 2026
Trump has accused Petro of facilitating cocaine production and trafficking into the U.S., rhetoric that Petro has rejected as slander and unfounded.
In a statement on X after Trump’s remarks, Petro said, “Today I will check if Trump’s words in English translate as the national press says. Therefore, later I will respond to them once I know what Trump’s illegitimate threat really means.”
Trump, who lobbied for a Nobel Peace Prize, also turned his attention to Cuba and Mexico on Sunday, telling reporters Mexico must get its act together and that Cuba was ready to fall.
Image credits: Alexi J. Rosenfeld/Getty Images
“Cuba is ready to fall. Cuba looks like it’s ready to fall,” he said. “Cuba now has no income. They got all of their income from Venezuela, from the Venezuelan oil. They’re not getting any of it. Cuba literally is ready to fall.”
Trump said it would not be necessary to send U.S. forces to Cuba and then pivoted to Mexico.
“Mexico has to get their act together because they’re [drugs] pouring through Mexico, and we’re going to have to do something,” Trump said.
Trump praised the Mexican president but said the country must act
.@POTUS on Cuba: “I think it’s just going to fall. I don’t think we need any action. It looks like it’s going down — it’s going down for the count. You ever watch a fight? They go down for the count, and Cuba looks like it’s going down.” pic.twitter.com/IJ7gsX16JC
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 5, 2026
“We’d love Mexico to do it; they’re capable of doing it, but unfortunately, the cartels are very strong in Mexico.”
Trump described Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum as a “terrific person” and said every time he speaks to her, he offers to send U.S. troops into Mexico.
“She’s concerned. She’s a little afraid. The cartels are running Mexico,” Trump said.
As well as setting his sights on Colombia, Cuba, and Mexico, Trump has also issued a threat to Iran and reiterated his hope to annex Greenland and make it part of the U.S.
Image credits: Mandel NGAN – Pool/Getty Images
In a Truth Social post on January 2, Trump warned, “If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
Then, in an interview with The Atlantic published on Sunday, Trump said, “We do need Greenland, absolutely. We need it for defense.”
While on board Air Force One later that day, Trump told reporters, “We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it.”
Trump again asserted his desire to control Greenland
.@POTUS: “We need Greenland from a national security situation. It’s so strategic. Right now, Greenland is covered with Russian and Chinese ships all over the place.” pic.twitter.com/suxvDQfmUm
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 5, 2026
He added, “We’ll worry about Greenland in about two months. Let’s talk about Greenland in 20 days.”
His comments prompted Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to issue a statement warning the U.S. to stop threatening Greenland.
Frederiksen said it makes “absolutely no sense to talk about the need for the United States to take over Greenland.”
Image credits: Jim Watson – Pool/Getty Images
“The U.S. has no right to annex any of the three nations in the Danish kingdom,” she said.
“I would therefore strongly urge the U.S. stop the threats against a historically close ally and against another country and another people, who have very clearly said that they are not for sale.”
It comes after the U.S. launched several strikes in Caracas on Saturday, capturing Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, transporting them to New York to face narco-terrorism conspiracy and related federal charges.
Maduro was expected to appear in court on Monday
.@POTUS: “Mexico has to get their act together because [drugs] are pouring through Mexico, and 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 running Mexico.” pic.twitter.com/McreTjSuKs
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 5, 2026
The Trump administration has framed the operation as an action aimed at dismantling international drug networks.
However, critics have condemned it as an unlawful kidnapping designed to engineer regime change and secure greater U.S. access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
Asked about that assertion on board Air Force One on Sunday, Trump conceded that “kidnapping” was not a “bad term” for Maduro’s capture and subsequent removal to the U.S.
He also told reporters that despite an interim president being appointed, the U.S. “was in charge.”
“She called it kidnapping, of Maduro,” a reporter said, referring to acting president Delcy Rodríguez.
Image credits: Truth Social via Getty Images
“It’s alright,” Trump responded. “It’s not a bad term.”
On Saturday, Trump said the U.S. would run the country until “a safe and proper and judicious transition” was possible.
He also said that U.S. oil companies would “fix” Venezuela’s “badly broken infrastructure,” confirming he was prepared to conduct further strikes if necessary.
“We’re going to have our very large US oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure, the oil infrastructure, and start making money for the country and we are ready to stage a second and much larger attack if we need to do so,” Trump said.
.@POTUS reiterates that if the acting Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodriguez doesn’t do what’s right, “she will face a situation probably worse than Maduro.” pic.twitter.com/WXk6S0u79S
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) January 5, 2026
While the American president has asserted that the U.S. will be running Venezuela, the country’s Supreme Court appointed Delcy Rodríguez as acting president.
Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s vice president, has offered to collaborate with the U.S. government and will be sworn in on Monday morning, local time.
Trump said Sunday that if Rodríguez did not cooperate with the U.S., she would face consequences worse than Maduro, who Trump said complied with U.S. forces immediately.
Maduro is expected to appear in a New York court on Monday.
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