Following launching a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a notable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president stated that US forces had successfully seized 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 assuming control of the troubled nation.
"We are going to manage the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" involves is unclear, but the commitment represents an abrupt change of course for the president, laden with inconsistencies and significant obstacles.
A president who ran on opposing "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now staking his administration on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose political stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly optimistic.
He stated his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He promised to recruit American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, supplying funds for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out sending American soldiers to Venezuela to advance 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 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 altered Venezuela's future – whether for good or ill.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has proven that he is quite prepared to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to previous actions, which have largely involved missiles and warplanes that minimize the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are markedly different.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That variation of Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan may be hard for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who broke with 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 endless use of force and support of overseas conflicts is understandable because we are compelled to pay for it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another notable Trump critic, 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 confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and justified".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Trump Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, land and resources that are fundamental to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke larger concerns in global politics, however, and affect American ties with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese government released a statement voicing shock and condemning what it said was a reckless assault on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be leaning 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 illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were blunter.
"America should not be administering other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have learned by now not to get entangled in perpetual conflicts and regime change missions that carry catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's decision not to inform legislative leaders prior to launching the attack.
"Donald Trump 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 press conference, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" details of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a success – with zero American casualties and limited damage to US equipment. Trump, with his typical bravado, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, effective and powerful demonstrations of American military might and proficiency in American history."
Now he is gambling his legacy on that success continuing, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unclear. He and his administration must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for decades while stabilising a region that is sure to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
