In the wake of launching a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be entering the state-building business.
In a notable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief stated that US military forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a team featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" involves is ambiguous, but the commitment signifies an abrupt policy reversal for the president, rife with inconsistencies and significant challenges.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US attempts at regime change and who promised 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 political stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He stated his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He promised to recruit American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing capital 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 intervention of Iraq, will now have to heed the words of one of the American planners of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has reshaped Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, 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 targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike past operations, which have mostly involved missiles and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are notably different.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That play on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan might prove tough for some of Trump's backers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who split from the president after charging him of abandoning his political base, was quick to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless military aggression and support of overseas conflicts is justified because we are forced to pay for it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent 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 stop fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers rallied behind 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 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 resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, land and resources that are fundamental to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will raise broader questions in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing surprise and condemning what it said was a irresponsible assault on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable censures 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 often appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed concern about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"America should not be running other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have understood by now not to get involved in perpetual conflicts and regime change missions 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 legislative leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and uphold 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 worried they would "leak" details of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a triumph – with no American casualties and minimal damage to US equipment. Trump, with his typical confidence, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most astonishing, effective and powerful displays of American power and competency in American history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that victory continuing, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unknown. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for years while calming a hemisphere that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
