Following executing a evening 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 resort on Saturday morning, the president stated that US military forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a group featuring 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 safe, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" entails is ambiguous, but the pledge marks an dramatic shift in direction for the president, full of inconsistencies and significant challenges.
A leader who campaigned against "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US attempts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now staking his presidency on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is in ruins and whose political stability has been undermined by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly optimistic.
He stated his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He pledged to recruit American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, providing funds for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of sending American soldiers to Venezuela to progress 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: "If you break it, you own it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
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 shown that he is more than willing to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, alleged narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to past operations, which have mostly involved rockets and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are markedly different.
His objective, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra could be tough for some of Trump's followers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who broke with 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 military aggression and backing for foreign wars is justified because we are compelled to fund it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another notable Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "firm and justified".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic 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 preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, land and assets that are central to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will provoke larger concerns in international relations, however, and affect American ties with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing shock and condemning what it said was a reckless assault on a independent country.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced concern about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"The United States should not be running other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have learned 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 lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's choice not to consult with legislative leaders prior to launching the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and uphold institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American casualties and limited damage to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American power and proficiency in US history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that success continuing, as the US says it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means is unclear. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while calming a region that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
