In the wake of launching a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the state-building business.
In a notable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief announced that US military forces had successfully seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a group featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "managing the nation" entails is ambiguous, but the commitment signifies an dramatic policy reversal for the president, laden with contradictions and daunting obstacles.
A leader who ran on opposing "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US attempts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now betting his administration on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is in ruins and whose political stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly confident.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He promised to recruit American energy companies to repair Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, providing capital for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out sending American soldiers to Venezuela to further these efforts. "We're not afraid of boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he informed reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to heed the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has redefined Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is quite prepared to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous actions, which have largely involved rockets and aircraft that reduce the risk of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove difficult for some of Trump's supporters to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who split from the president after charging him of abandoning his political base, was swift to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable because we are forced to fund it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "firm and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect commerce, territory and assets that are core to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will raise larger questions in international relations, however, and affect American ties with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing surprise and denouncing what it said was a reckless attack on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"The United States should not be running other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have learned by now not to get involved in endless wars and regime change missions that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's decision not to consult with congressional leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "disclose" details of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a triumph – with zero American deaths and limited damage to US assets. Trump, with his typical confidence, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most astonishing, successful and powerful displays of American military might and proficiency in American history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that victory continuing, as the US claims it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for years while calming a hemisphere that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
