In the wake of launching a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the state-building business.
In a remarkable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president declared that US forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a group including 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 secure, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "governing the state" involves is uncertain, but the pledge signifies an dramatic change of course for the president, full of inconsistencies and significant challenges.
A leader who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America first" international policy is now gambling his presidency on effectively rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose political stability has been eroded by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly confident.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He pledged to enlist American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, providing capital for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude 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 informed reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to consider the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has reshaped Venezuela's destiny – whether for good or ill.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is quite prepared to use military force around the globe.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous actions, which have largely involved rockets and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That variation of Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - mantra might prove hard for some of Trump's supporters to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who broke with the president after accusing him of deserting his political base, was swift to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is justified because we are compelled to finance it," she stated. "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 explanation that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers supported 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 appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Trump Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, territory and assets that are core to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will raise larger questions in global politics, however, and affect American ties with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement voicing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless assault on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar condemnations 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, expressed concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were blunter.
"The United States 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 regime change missions that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's choice not to inform legislative leaders before initiating the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to abide by the law and uphold democratic 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" particulars of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a success – 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 impressive displays of American power and proficiency in US history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that success enduring, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unknown. He and his team must rebuild a nation that has been in chaos for decades while calming a region that is sure to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
