In the wake of launching a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the nation-building business.
In a striking news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president declared that US military forces had effectively apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a team including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the embattled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "governing the state" entails is ambiguous, but the vow signifies an sudden policy reversal for the president, full of contradictions and daunting obstacles.
A leader who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America first" international policy is now gambling his administration on effectively rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He stated his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He promised to recruit American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying capital for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of 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 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."
An Altered International Stance
The US has reshaped Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has shown that he is quite prepared to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike past operations, which have largely involved missiles and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are strikingly different.
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 - slogan may be hard for some of Trump's followers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who split from the president after charging him of deserting his political base, was quick to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless military aggression and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable 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 critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and warranted".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a steady 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 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 "protect commerce, territory and assets that are core to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke broader questions in global politics, however, and impact American relations with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing surprise and condemning what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced worry about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"America should not be managing 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 entangled in endless wars and regime change missions that carry devastating results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" details of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a triumph – with no American deaths and minimal harm to US assets. Trump, with his typical bravado, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competency in US history."
Now he is gambling his legacy on that success enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means is unclear. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for years while calming a hemisphere that is sure to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
