Following launching a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building business.
In a striking press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president declared that US forces had successfully seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a group comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "managing the nation" entails is unclear, but the pledge signifies an dramatic change of course for the president, laden with contradictions and daunting obstacles.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US attempts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America first" international policy is now betting his presidency on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose political stability has been eroded by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was persistently confident.
He stated his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He pledged to enlist American energy companies to repair Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, supplying funds for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude deploying American soldiers to Venezuela to advance these efforts. "We're not afraid of boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he told reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to heed the words of one of the American planners of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has redefined Venezuela's future – for better or worse.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is quite prepared to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous operations, which have largely involved rockets and warplanes that minimize the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are notably different.
His objective, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan may be difficult for some of Trump's followers to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who split from the president after accusing him of abandoning his core supporters, was quick to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending use of force and support of overseas conflicts is understandable because we are compelled to pay for it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "firm and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it ensured US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Trump Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, territory and resources that are fundamental to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will raise larger questions in global politics, however, and affect American relations with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement voicing surprise and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible assault on a independent country.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were more direct.
"The United States should not be running other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have understood by now not to get entangled in perpetual conflicts and regime change missions that carry devastating results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's choice not to inform congressional leaders before launching the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American casualties and limited harm to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, effective and impressive demonstrations of American power and proficiency in American history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that success continuing, as the US says it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unknown. He and his administration must strengthen a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while calming a region that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
