Following launching a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the state-building business.
In a remarkable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief declared that US forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a team including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "governing the state" involves is uncertain, but the pledge signifies an sudden change of course for the president, rife with contradictions and significant challenges.
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 economy is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been eroded by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He pledged to enlist American energy companies to repair Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, supplying capital for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of deploying American soldiers to Venezuela to further these efforts. "We're not afraid of boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he informed reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US intervention of Iraq, will now have to heed the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you break it, you own it."
An Altered International Stance
The US has altered Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has shown that he is ready to use military force around the globe.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck atomic sites in Iran, alleged narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to previous operations, which have largely involved rockets and warplanes that reduce the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are notably different.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan may be difficult for some of Trump's followers 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 quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending military aggression and support of foreign wars is understandable because we are compelled to finance it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake 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 "criminal regime" as "decisive and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Trump Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, territory and assets that are fundamental to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will provoke larger concerns in global politics, however, and impact American relations with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing shock and condemning what it said was a irresponsible assault on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a ceasefire 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 primary worry is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were blunter.
"America should not be administering other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have understood by now not to get involved in endless wars and regime change missions that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's choice not to consult with legislative leaders before initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty 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 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 mission was a success – with zero American deaths and minimal damage to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most stunning, effective and powerful demonstrations of American military might and proficiency in US history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that victory enduring, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unknown. He and his administration must strengthen a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a region that is sure to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
