The United States' latest bold moves

Donald Trump photo edited with photo of Greenland coast Image Credit: Alex Wong/Getty Images; Juliette Pavy/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The United States has captured Maduro and is planning to take Greenland. This aggressive course of action is alarming the country’s European allies, spelling the beginning of a period of international investment for the United States.

In the past few weeks, “America first” has been the motto of the Trump administration. On January 3, the United States carried out an attack on Venezuela to capture its President, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife. They are currently being held in New York awaiting trial, accused of drug smuggling and narco-terrorism among other charges.

In recent months, the Defense Department, specifically Secretary Hegseth, has garnered controversy for its attacks on small Venezuelan boats headed for the US, declaring them to be smuggling drugs into the country. Controlling the spread of dangerous substances has been one of the priorities of the Trump administration, a promise it has firmly maintained since President Trump was sworn in for his second term in January 2025.

Trump has accused the Venezuelan president of directly sanctioning the passage of drugs into the United States, saying he is in league with the drug cartels, causing thousands of deaths as a result of fentanyl-laced substances.

At home, Maduro stirred controversy of his own. He used his position to further reduce the democratic process in the country and has used the military to enact his rule over the Venezuelan people to preserve his power.

The kidnapping of Maduro has garnered mixed feelings from both sides. Protestors say that the United States has no right to intervene violently in another nation (the attack on Venezuela resulted in over one hundred Venezuelan deaths), while supporters believe that it was imperative to bring Maduro to justice.

The opposition leader in Venezuela, María Corina Machado, recently visited the White House to present President Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize, which she won for her fight to preserve democracy in Venezuela. Critics, however, believe that their exchange was more symbolic than effective, citing that the US will not provide her with support but the president is still not the official recipient of the award.

And now, the United States is showing neither restraint nor hesitation in its move to potentially annex Greenland. President Trump has long-affirmed his desire to see Greenland as the 51st state, and is threatening 10% tariff increases on 10 European nations who oppose his push.

Greenland is officially under the jurisdiction of Denmark, and there is no previous basis for the US's claim on it. However, Greenland's geographic position in the Arctic, keeping close proximity to Russia, could be instrumental in keeping an eye on potentially dangerous enemies.

Generally, a takeover of Greenland is seen to be unpopular by Greenlanders, European powers, and a growing group of US politicians. European nations have sent soldiers to Greenland, saying that an American takeover would be the effective end of NATO, and will side with Denmark in defending it.

President Trump has charged his voter base with promises to put America's domestic concerns over other nations' needs. Most notably, increasing the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in major American cities and stepping up costal defense. With one year in office under his second term's belt, the president has shown that he has no intention to slow down or stop.

With a minority in the House of Representatives and Senate, Democrats are in no position to effectively challenge the president. Recently, the Senate voted to amend the War Powers Resolution to restrict the president's authority in Venezuela, and Democrats did sway some Republicans. However, the vote was ultimately split 50-50, with Vice President Vance being the deciding tie-breaking vote to defeat the amendment.

The international community is on edge with the US's latest moves, concerned that international alliances are growing more fragile with every step the president takes. With a split Congress and a divided American people, the executive branch has taken the opportunity to assert dominance and enforce the president's vision for America.