In the wake of 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 resort 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 indicated that a delegation including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" entails is unclear, but the vow represents an dramatic shift in direction for the president, full of inconsistencies and daunting challenges.
A president who ran on opposing "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now gambling his presidency on effectively rebuilding a South American nation whose economy is in ruins and whose governmental stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He promised to enlist American energy companies to repair Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing capital for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude 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 told reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to consider the words of one of the American planners of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "You break it, you bought it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has redefined Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has proven that he is ready to use armed force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike previous actions, which have largely involved rockets and aircraft that reduce the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are notably 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 might prove difficult for some of Trump's supporters to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who broke with the president after charging him of abandoning his political base, was quick to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's perpetual use of force and support of foreign wars is understandable because we are forced to fund it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
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 seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, land and assets that are core to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will raise larger concerns in international relations, however, and impact American relations with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing surprise and denouncing what it said was a reckless attack on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"The United States should not be managing other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have learned by now not to get involved in perpetual conflicts and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders before initiating the attack.
"The President 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, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" particulars of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a triumph – with no American deaths and limited harm to US equipment. Trump, with his typical confidence, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most stunning, effective and impressive displays of American power and competency in US history."
Now he is betting his legacy on that success enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unknown. He and his administration must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for years while calming a region that is sure to be cautious of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
