Following launching a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building business.
In a notable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president declared that US military forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a team comprising 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 manage the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" actually means is unclear, but the pledge represents an sudden shift in direction for the president, full of inconsistencies and daunting challenges.
A president who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now gambling his presidency on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is in ruins and whose governmental stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly optimistic.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He vowed to enlist American energy companies to repair Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, providing financing for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude deploying 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 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: "If you break it, you own it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has reshaped Venezuela's future – for better or worse.
Trump took office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has proven that he is ready to use armed force worldwide.
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 jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to previous actions, which have mostly involved missiles and warplanes that minimize the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments 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 play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan could be difficult for some of Trump's supporters to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who broke with the president after charging him of deserting his core supporters, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless military aggression and backing for foreign wars is understandable because we are compelled to pay for it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and legitimate".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-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 "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged 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 branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will raise larger questions in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing surprise and condemning what it said was a irresponsible assault on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable censures 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 appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack 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 Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have learned by now not to get involved 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 rights violations. But he condemned Trump's choice not to inform congressional leaders before launching 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 placing America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a success – with no American casualties and minimal harm to US assets. 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 betting his presidency on that success continuing, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his administration must rebuild a nation that has been in chaos for decades while stabilising a region that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
