The Trump administration has issued a clear set of demands to Venezuela’s new interim government: sever its economic ties with Russia, China, and Iran, and agree to work only with the U.S. on oil production.
President Trump announced that Venezuela is set to deliver 30 to 50 million barrels of sanctioned oil to the U.S., stating it will be sold at market price with proceeds intended to aid the Venezuelan people.
However, Venezuela’s interim president, Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, has rejected U.S. claims of control. She condemned the capture of former leader Nicolás Maduro as a “kidnapping” and forcefully reasserted Venezuelan sovereignty. Maduro and his wife are behind bars in New York City after pleading guilty to federal narcoterrorism charges.
Analysts note Rodríguez’s government is sending mixed signals.
“We can definitely say that the president of a country that was pretty hostile to the U.S. is no longer in charge,” said Ryan Brobst of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. “Whether or not that makes the U.S. safer depends on what Rodriguez decides to do in the near future.”
Brobst pointed to holding free and fair elections as a critical step and suggested severing Venezuela’s close relationship with Cuba.
“Another thing that might be good would be to sever the relationship between Venezuela and Cuba. Cuba is a large patron of Venezuela,” he explained. “A lot of the casualties of the raid were actually Cuban security forces protecting Maduro, which shows you how many Cubans care about it.”
President Trump has also suggested other countries could be next – including Mexico, Cuba, and Colombia. And now, the White House is renewing its interest in acquiring Greenland, a territory of Denmark, citing Arctic security concerns.
In a statement from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, she said, “President Trump has made it well known that acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, and it’s vital to deter our adversaries in the Arctic region. The President and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, and of course, utilizing the U.S. Military is always an option at the Commander in Chief’s Disposal.”
Danish Prime Minister, Mette Frederiksen, says the president’s threats should be taken seriously, warning, “If the United States chooses to attack another NATO country militarily, then everything stops,” and has requested an urgent meeting with the U.S. State Department.
United Nations members and international law experts say the strike violates the UN Charter on Sovereignty and Arms. European leaders are also rejecting any U.S. military action in Greenland, warning an attack on NATO territory could fundamentally fracture the alliance.
