“We’ve streamlined the process. There’s now a shared document.”
WASHINGTON — The State Department has implemented a new internal military threats tracker to help staff monitor the growing list of countries the Trump administration has threatened with military action, officials confirmed Friday.
The system was created after personnel reported difficulty keeping current with developments across multiple regions simultaneously.
“We realized we needed a more organized approach,” a senior State Department official said on background. “By Wednesday, some staff were learning about new threats from cable news rather than internal channels. That’s not ideal.”
The tracker currently lists six countries or territories that have received explicit or implied military threats since January 3: Venezuela, Greenland, Mexico, Cuba, Colombia, and Iran.
Venezuela Listed As ‘Resolved’
Officials noted that Venezuela has been moved to a separate category after U.S. forces captured President Nicolás Maduro on January 3, making it the first entry to reach what the tracker designates as “kinetic conclusion.”
“Venezuela is now in the post-threat phase,” the official explained. “We’re calling it ‘resolved,’ though some prefer ‘transitioned.’ The terminology is still being finalized.”
Greenland remains listed as “active consideration,” following White House confirmation that military force is “always an option” for acquiring the Danish territory. Denmark has warned such action would end NATO.
“We’ve noted Denmark’s position,” the official said. “It’s in the tracker.”
Mexico Elevated Thursday
Mexico was upgraded to “imminent” status Thursday night after President Trump told Fox News the U.S. would “start now hitting land” to target drug cartels.
“The Mexico situation evolved quickly,” the official acknowledged. “We had it listed as ‘rhetorical’ as recently as Tuesday. Then it accelerated.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has rejected U.S. military operations on Mexican soil, asserting her country’s sovereignty. Trump responded that Sheinbaum is “very frightened” of cartels and that “the cartels are running Mexico.”
The State Department declined to characterize land strikes on a major trading partner and ally as unusual.
“Every situation is unique,” the official said. “That’s why we needed the tracker.”
Iran Added After Oil Meeting
Iran was added to the tracker Friday following Trump’s remarks at a meeting with oil executives, where he warned Iranian leaders: “You better not start shooting, because we’ll start shooting too.”
Asked whether threatening war during an energy industry meeting raised questions about motivation, the official said the venue was “incidental.”
“The president meets with many groups,” the official said. “He happened to be with oil executives when the Iran situation came up. These things overlap.”
Cuba and Colombia remain on the tracker at “mentioned” status, indicating threats that have been floated publicly but not yet elaborated.
System ‘Scalable’
Officials stressed that the tracking system was designed to accommodate additional entries as needed.
“It’s scalable,” the official said. “We built in capacity for growth. The current pace is manageable, but we wanted flexibility.”
Asked whether any countries had been removed from the tracker after threats were walked back, the official paused.
“Not as of this morning,” the official said. “But the week isn’t over.”
The State Department said briefings on the tracker would be provided to relevant Congressional committees upon request, though officials cautioned that the document “updates frequently” and printed versions may be outdated by the time they arrive.
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