In the wake of launching a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building business.
In a notable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate 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 announced that a group including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the troubled nation.
"We are going to administer the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" involves is unclear, but the commitment signifies an abrupt shift in direction for the president, full of contradictions and daunting obstacles.
A president who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now betting his administration on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been eroded by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He stated his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He pledged to recruit American oil firms to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying capital for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of 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 sharp critic 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: "You break it, you bought it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has altered Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is ready to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to past operations, which have mostly involved missiles and warplanes that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Domestic and International Reaction
That play on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan could be tough for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who split from the president after accusing him of abandoning his core supporters, was swift to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's perpetual military aggression and backing for foreign wars is understandable because we are forced to finance it," she stated. "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 weapons 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 stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and justified".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, territory and resources that are central 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 foreign ministry issued a statement voicing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless assault on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed worry about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and brutal operations 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 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 entangled in endless wars and regime change missions that carry catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's choice not to inform legislative leaders before initiating the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "disclose" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a success – with no American casualties and minimal damage to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most astonishing, effective and powerful demonstrations of American military might and proficiency in US history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that victory continuing, as the US says it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means is unknown. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while calming a hemisphere that is sure to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
