Following launching a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a striking news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president announced that US forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then said that a group comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the embattled nation.
"We are going to administer the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" actually means is unclear, but the pledge represents an dramatic change of course for the president, laden with inconsistencies and formidable challenges.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America first" international policy is now staking his presidency on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose political stability has been eroded by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly confident.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He promised to recruit American oil firms to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, providing funds for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out deploying 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 sharp critic of the US invasion 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."
An Altered International Stance
The US has redefined 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 armed force worldwide.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous operations, which have largely involved rockets 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 notably distinct.
His goal, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Domestic and International Reaction
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 accusing him of deserting his core supporters, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's perpetual use of force and support of overseas conflicts is understandable because we are forced to finance 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, compared the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and justified".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Trump Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, territory and assets that are fundamental to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will raise broader concerns in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement voicing surprise and condemning what it said was a reckless attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed concern about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were more direct.
"America should not be running other countries for any reason," 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 catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's decision not to consult with legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty to follow the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
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 military operation was a success – with zero American casualties and limited harm to US assets. Trump, with his typical bravado, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and powerful displays of American military might and proficiency in American history."
Now he is staking his legacy on that success continuing, as the US says it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unclear. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for decades while stabilising a region that is sure to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
