In the wake of launching a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a striking news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president announced that US forces had effectively apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said 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 administer the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "governing the state" entails is uncertain, but the vow marks an abrupt policy reversal for the president, rife with inconsistencies and formidable obstacles.
A president who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now staking his administration on effectively rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is in ruins and whose political stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently optimistic.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He promised to recruit American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying capital for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of 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 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 Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has altered Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is ready to use armed force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to past operations, which have largely involved rockets and warplanes that reduce the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His objective, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Domestic and International Reaction
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra might prove difficult for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who split from the president after charging him of abandoning his core supporters, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending use of force and backing for foreign wars is justified because we are compelled to pay for it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another notable 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 seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and legitimate".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Trump Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect commerce, territory and assets that are central to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke larger concerns in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement expressing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless attack on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar condemnations 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 appeared 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 primary worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"The United States should not be managing other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have understood by now not to get involved in endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's decision not to inform legislative leaders prior to launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and protect institutional 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 "disclose" details of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a success – with zero American casualties and minimal harm to US equipment. Trump, with his typical confidence, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most stunning, effective and powerful demonstrations of American power and competency in US history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that victory continuing, as the US claims it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unclear. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in turmoil for years while calming a hemisphere that is sure to be cautious of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
