In the wake of executing a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building business.
In a striking media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief 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 including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating 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 safe, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "managing the nation" involves is uncertain, but the commitment marks an dramatic policy reversal for the president, laden with contradictions and significant challenges.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US efforts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now betting his administration on effectively reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been undermined by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly confident.
He stated his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He promised to recruit American oil firms to repair Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, supplying financing for the American rebuilding project 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 informed reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to heed the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you break it, you own it."
An Altered International Stance
The US has redefined Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is more than willing to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous operations, which have mostly involved missiles and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His objective, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan could be hard for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who broke with the president after accusing him of abandoning his core supporters, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's never ending use of force and backing for 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, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and justified".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it ensured US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He resurrected 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 supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, land and resources that are core to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will raise broader questions in global politics, however, and impact American ties with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement expressing surprise and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible assault on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced worry about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"America should not be administering 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 endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry devastating results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's choice not to consult with legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"Donald Trump 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 demands."
Trump, in his press conference, 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 mission was a success – with zero American deaths and limited harm to US equipment. Trump, with his typical bravado, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most astonishing, successful and impressive demonstrations of American power and proficiency in US history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that success enduring, as the US claims it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unknown. He and his administration must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
