In the wake of executing a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be entering the state-building business.
In a remarkable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president announced that US military forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a team including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the embattled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "managing the nation" actually means is ambiguous, but the pledge represents an dramatic policy reversal for the president, laden with inconsistencies and daunting obstacles.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US attempts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America first" international policy is now staking his presidency on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is in ruins and whose political stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly upbeat.
He stated his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He pledged to recruit American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, providing funds for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude sending American soldiers to Venezuela to progress these efforts. "We do not fear 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 remember the words of one of the American architects 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 destiny – for better or worse.
Trump took office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is ready to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck atomic sites in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike past actions, which have largely involved missiles and aircraft that reduce the exposure 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 briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Domestic and International Reaction
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan may be hard for some of Trump's followers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who split from the president after accusing him of abandoning his political base, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless military aggression and support of overseas conflicts is understandable because we are compelled to finance it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms 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 characterizing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered 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 foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, land and resources that are fundamental to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will provoke broader questions in global politics, however, and impact American relations with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement expressing shock and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible assault on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a peace deal 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 precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were more direct.
"The United States should not be managing other countries for any reason," 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 lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's choice not to consult with congressional leaders prior to initiating 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 placing America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "disclose" details of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American deaths and limited damage to US assets. Trump, with his typical bravado, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and powerful demonstrations of American power and competency in American history."
Now he is betting his legacy on that victory continuing, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unclear. He and his team must rebuild a nation that has been in chaos for years while calming a region that is sure to be cautious of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
