In the wake of launching a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building business.
In a remarkable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president stated that US forces had successfully apprehended 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 seizing the reins of the troubled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" entails is unclear, but the commitment marks an dramatic policy reversal for the president, laden with contradictions and formidable challenges.
A leader who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now gambling his presidency on effectively reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose political stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He stated his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He pledged to enlist American energy companies to repair Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, providing financing for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out deploying 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 vocal opponent of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to remember 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 Changed Global Approach
The US has redefined Venezuela's future – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is ready to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, alleged narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to past actions, which have largely involved missiles and warplanes that reduce the risk of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His objective, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Domestic and International Reaction
That twist on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - mantra could be difficult for some of Trump's supporters to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who split from the president after charging him of deserting his core supporters, 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 understandable because we are forced to pay for it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect commerce, land and resources that are core to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will raise broader questions in global politics, however, and affect American relations with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released 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 ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed worry about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"The United States 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 endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's choice not to inform legislative leaders before initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" details of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a success – with no American deaths and limited harm to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most stunning, effective and impressive demonstrations of American power and competency in US history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that success enduring, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means is unclear. He and his administration must rebuild a nation that has been in chaos for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
