Trump and Rubio's global intimidation campaign

President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio have whipped up a sense of fear and intimidation in foreign capitals since the capture of Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro, together threatening at least six countries.Why it matters: In the wake of one of the most brazen displays of American power in decades, foreign leaders are taking the warnings very, very seriously.Zoom in: The administration's tough-guy posturing has escalated since the stunning raid that captured Maduro, as Trump has claimed he now controls Venezuela.Rubio said Saturday that Maduro "tried to play big boy" rather than bend to Trump's will, and as a result the Venezuelan leader was blindfolded and on a battleship, en route to New York City to face drug trafficking charges."The message for the world is, don't play games with this president," Rubio said, "because it's not going to end well."Stephen Miller, another architect of the move on Maduro, told CNN on Monday that the rest of the Western Hemisphere should be on notice: "We're a superpower, and under President Trump we're going to conduct ourselves as a superpower."Breaking it down: Trump and his team have floated potential action in Cuba, Colombia and even Mexico over the twin demons of drugs and socialism — plus more attacks on Venezuela, if acting President Delcy Rodríguez won't fall in line.Trump also threatened to attack Iran, in the name of protecting those protesting economic hardship there.Then there's Greenland, an autonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark. "We do need Greenland, absolutely," Trump reiterated to The Atlantic in the afterglow of the Maduro operation, citing the presence of Chinese and Russian ships nearby.Driving the news: Denmark Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is warning that Trump's threats to annex Greenland must be taken seriously. She no finds herself in the unsettling position of rallying European allies against potential military intervention by the continent's long-time security guarantor."If the United States attacks another NATO country, everything stops, including NATO," Frederiksen warned Monday.Nordic neighbors sent statements of solidarity. Greenland's prime minister asked for "respect," saying: "Enough is enough. No more pressure. No more innuendo. No more fantasies of annexation."If Trump is to be believed, it's no mere fantasy. "We will deal with Greenland in about two months," he told reporters Sunday on Air Force One.What they're saying: During that press gaggle, Trump said an operation to depose Colombian President Gustavo Petro — whom he accused of involvement in cocaine trafficking — "sounds good to me." A day earlier, Trump said the leftist leader has to "watch his ass."Petro vehemently denied the drug allegations and warned that arresting him would "unleash the people's jaguar." Petro said he was prepared to take up arms himself, and on Monday declared: "Come and get me."Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum was more measured in response to Trump's comments that the U.S. will "have to do something" to bring Mexico's drug cartels to heel. "Cooperation, yes; subordination and intervention, no," she wrote.Meanwhile, Iran's ambassador to the UN dismissed Trump's supposed concerns about protesters as "crocodile tears" and said Tehran is prepared to defend itself.The flipside: Rodriguez, Maduro's newly minted successor, seemed to change her tone after Trump's direct threat against her. In a "message to the United States" posted in English on Telegram, she professed her hopes to "collaborate" with Trump in a spirit of "peace and dialogue."The intrigue: The most urgent warnings from Rubio and Trump have been aimed at Havana.Trump said Sunday that "Cuba is ready to fall" without access to Venezuelan oil, which helps prop up the island nation's economy.Asked on "Meet the Press" whether Cuba would be the administration's next target, Rubio responded: "I think they're in a lot of trouble, yes." That came a day after Rubio said that "if I lived in Havana and I was in the government, I'd be concerned, at least a little bit."The bottom line: Leaders on Trump's list who previously hoped he was bluffing now have one very big reason to fear he isn't.