Following launching a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be entering 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 successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a delegation featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" involves is unclear, but the commitment represents an sudden change of course for the president, laden with inconsistencies and daunting challenges.
A leader who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now staking his presidency on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly upbeat.
He stated his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He vowed to enlist American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying capital for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude 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 sharp critic of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to heed 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 reshaped Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated 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 struck atomic sites in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous actions, which have largely involved rockets and aircraft that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are strikingly different.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove tough for some of Trump's followers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who split from the president after accusing him of abandoning his political base, was quick to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable 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 prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that declared 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 "protect commerce, territory and resources that are central to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will raise broader concerns in global politics, however, and affect American ties with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing surprise and condemning 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 broker a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"The United States should not be running other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have learned by now not to get involved in endless wars and regime change missions that carry catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders before launching the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and uphold institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" details of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a triumph – with no American casualties and limited harm to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most astonishing, successful and powerful displays of American military might and competency in American history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that success enduring, as the US says it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his team must rebuild a nation that has been in chaos for years while stabilising a region that is bound to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
