Following launching a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the state-building business.
In a striking news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president declared that US military forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a team featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the embattled nation.
"We are going to manage the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" involves is unclear, but the vow represents an abrupt shift in direction for the president, rife with contradictions and formidable obstacles.
A president who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America first" international policy is now betting his presidency on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been undermined by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He promised to recruit American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying financing for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude deploying American soldiers to Venezuela to further these efforts. "We do not fear boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he told reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to remember the words of one of the American planners of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you break it, you own it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has altered Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has proven that he is quite prepared to use armed force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous operations, which have largely involved missiles and aircraft that reduce the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are notably different.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Domestic and International Reaction
That play on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan might prove difficult for some of Trump's supporters to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who broke with the president after charging him of deserting his core supporters, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's perpetual use of force and support of overseas conflicts is justified because we are compelled to pay for it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to reclaim confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and justified".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it ensured US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Trump Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, territory and resources that are fundamental to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke larger concerns in global politics, however, and impact American ties with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese government released a statement expressing surprise and condemning what it said was a reckless assault on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable 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 frequently seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed worry about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"America should not be managing 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 overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's decision not to consult with congressional leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty to abide by the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a triumph – with zero American deaths and minimal harm to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most stunning, effective and powerful demonstrations of American military might and proficiency in American history."
Now he is staking his legacy on that victory continuing, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his team 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 planned for them.
