A successful operation to seize Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro emboldened U. S. President Donald Trump to press territorial claims over Greenland, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.

According to the newspaper, despite criticism over alleged violations of international law, Trump viewed Maduro’s removal as a clear foreign-policy win. The outcome reinforced his belief that decisive action abroad could deliver tangible political gains at home.

The operation, carried out overnight on January 3 under the name «Absolute Resolve,» involved U.S. strikes on Caracas followed by the detention and removal of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The couple were taken to the United States to stand trial on charges that include «narco-terrorism,» illegal weapons possession, and drug trafficking. Maduro has rejected all accusations.

WSJ notes that Trump’s interest in acquiring Greenland fits into a broader vision of U.S. territorial expansion. He is said to admire the legacy of the 11th U.S. president, James Polk, under whose leadership the country experienced its largest territorial growth in the mid-19th century. As part of that fascination, Trump reportedly ordered Polk’s portrait to be displayed in the Oval Office.

During Trump’s first term, his administration quietly explored diplomatic avenues related to Greenland. Among the options discussed was a potential 2019 meeting between then-national security adviser John Bolton and the prime minister of Denmark. The paper adds that there was even consideration of Trump personally raising the Greenland issue with Danish officials while traveling from Poland in September of that year.