Following executing a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a notable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president stated that US forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a group comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the embattled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "governing the state" entails is ambiguous, but the vow represents an abrupt shift in direction for the president, full of contradictions and formidable challenges.
A leader who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now gambling his administration on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly optimistic.
He stated his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He pledged to enlist American energy companies to repair Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, providing capital for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out sending American soldiers to Venezuela to progress 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 intervention of Iraq, will now have to remember 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 Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has redefined Venezuela's destiny – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is quite prepared to use armed force around the globe.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike past actions, which have mostly involved rockets and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are strikingly different.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Domestic and International Reaction
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove hard for some of Trump's followers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who broke with the president after charging him of abandoning his core supporters, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending use of force and support of foreign wars is justified because we are compelled to fund it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
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 explanation that the operation was to retake seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "illegitimate government" 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 ensured US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Trump Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, territory and assets that are central to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will raise broader questions in global politics, however, and impact American ties with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese government released a statement voicing surprise and condemning what it said was a irresponsible assault on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia after 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 concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main 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."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"The United States should not be managing other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have learned by now not to get involved in perpetual conflicts and overthrow attempts that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's decision not to consult with congressional leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to follow the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" details of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a success – with no American casualties and limited damage to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most astonishing, successful and powerful displays of American military might and competency in US history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that success continuing, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unclear. He and his administration must rebuild a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is sure to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
