Following launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building business.
In a remarkable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief stated that US forces had successfully apprehended 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, working with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to administer the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" entails is uncertain, but the commitment represents an dramatic shift in direction for the president, laden with inconsistencies and significant obstacles.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America first" international policy is now gambling his administration on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been undermined by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly confident.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He vowed to recruit American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, supplying capital for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of sending 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 sharp critic 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."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has reshaped Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is quite prepared to use armed force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to past operations, which have mostly involved missiles and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are markedly different.
His objective, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra may be tough for some of Trump's followers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who split from the president after accusing him of abandoning his political base, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's perpetual military aggression and support of overseas conflicts is justified because we are compelled to finance it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and warranted".
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 resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, land and resources that are central to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will raise larger concerns in global politics, however, and impact American ties with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing surprise and condemning what it said was a irresponsible assault on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry 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.
"The United States should not be managing 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 consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's choice not to consult with legislative leaders before initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and uphold institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" particulars of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a success – with no American deaths and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most astonishing, effective and impressive demonstrations of American power and proficiency in US history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that success enduring, as the US claims it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unclear. He and his administration must rebuild a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
