There are many questions following the US capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro this weekend. In countries and areas that Donald Trump has more or less openly threatened - such as Greenland, Colombia and Panama - there is great concern.
Magnus Christiansson, a researcher at the Department of War Science at FHS, believes that "a completely absurd situation" has arisen, and points to the US president's tone in connection with the attack on Venezuela on Saturday.
He is openly discussing which countries could be future targets. It's like Trump sitting in a restaurant with a menu in front of him.
Highlighted Panama
Christiansson emphasizes that the circumstances are very different for the current, vulnerable countries. Greenland is a special case, and belongs to NATO ally Denmark.
Among Latin American countries, Cuba is close to Venezuela, but does not have nearly as large oil reserves that could be attractive. In Colombia, presidential elections are coming up in a few months, so the US could very well get a more friendly president there without having to do anything.
But one country that was highlighted very clearly in the then-newly inaugurated president's State of the Union address in March last year is small Panama, with the canal between the world's oceans that is so important for global trade.
"We're taking it back," Trump said then as a final promise about the Panama Canal.
Can't resist
The canal is geopolitics at the highest level. With Hong Kong-based company CK Hutchison controlling port terminals there, Panama is seen as a crucial pawn between the superpowers the United States and China.
So far, not much has happened on that issue. But Christiansson believes that the US military may have prepared a variety of different scenarios for Panama and other objectives that the president has identified.
It wouldn't surprise me if there were operational plans for all of these priority areas, where you could present different options to the president about what you could accomplish.
So, none of these countries can withstand the combined military power of the United States.
