Following launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building business.
In a striking news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief declared 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 including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the troubled 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 "running the country" entails is ambiguous, but the vow signifies an abrupt change of course for the president, rife with contradictions and significant obstacles.
A leader who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now staking his administration on effectively rebuilding a South American nation whose economy is in ruins and whose political stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He pledged to enlist American energy companies to repair Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing funds for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude sending American soldiers to Venezuela to advance these efforts. "We're not afraid of boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he informed reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to consider the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "You break it, you bought it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has reshaped Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has shown that he is ready to use military force around the globe.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck atomic sites in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters 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 commitments to the future of that nation – are markedly 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 - slogan may be tough for some of Trump's followers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who split from the president after accusing him of deserting his political base, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless military aggression and support of foreign wars is understandable because we are forced to finance it," she wrote. "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 official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it ensured US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic policy that declared 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 supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, land and assets that are fundamental to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will raise larger questions in global politics, however, and affect American ties with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement voicing surprise and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible attack on a independent country.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying 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 centrist Republican congressman, expressed concern about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"America should not be administering other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have learned by now not to get entangled in perpetual conflicts and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic results 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 choice not to consult with legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty to follow the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
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.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American deaths and minimal damage to US equipment. Trump, with his typical bravado, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and powerful demonstrations of American military might and competency in American history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that victory enduring, as the US claims it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unknown. He and his team must rebuild a nation that has been in chaos for years while calming a hemisphere that is sure to be apprehensive of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
