Following executing a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building business.
In a remarkable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president declared that US forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a delegation comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to administer the country until such time as we can do a safe, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" actually means is unclear, but the pledge represents an dramatic shift in direction for the president, rife with contradictions and formidable challenges.
A leader who ran on opposing "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 effectively reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been undermined by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly optimistic.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He vowed to recruit American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, supplying capital for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out deploying 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 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 reshaped Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump took 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 armed force around the globe.
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 mostly involved rockets and warplanes that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – 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 - mantra might prove hard for some of Trump's followers to accept.
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 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 stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms 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 supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and warranted".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic 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 "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, territory and resources that are fundamental to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will raise larger questions in global politics, however, and impact American ties with the world's other significant 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 censures of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced concern about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and barbaric 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 administering 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 perpetual conflicts and regime change missions that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders before launching 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 putting America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" details of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a triumph – with no American deaths and minimal harm to US equipment. Trump, with his typical confidence, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most stunning, successful and powerful displays of American military might and proficiency in American history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that success continuing, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for 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 bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
