Following executing a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building business.
In a striking media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president announced that US forces had successfully apprehended 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, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the embattled nation.
"We are going to administer the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" actually means is unclear, but the vow marks an sudden policy reversal for the president, full of inconsistencies and daunting obstacles.
A leader who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now betting his presidency on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose political stability has been undermined by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly confident.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He vowed to recruit American oil firms to repair Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, providing capital for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude sending 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 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: "You break it, you bought it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has reshaped 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 shown that he is more than willing to use armed force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous operations, which have largely involved rockets 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 notably distinct.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Domestic and International Reaction
That play on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan might prove difficult for some of Trump's followers to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who broke with the president after charging him of deserting his political base, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless use of force and support of foreign wars is understandable because we are compelled to fund it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and legitimate".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy 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 resources that are core to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will raise larger concerns in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing surprise and denouncing what it said was a reckless assault on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were more direct.
"The United States should not be running 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 involved in perpetual conflicts and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's decision not to consult with legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a success – with no American deaths and limited damage to US assets. Trump, with his typical confidence, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most astonishing, effective and impressive displays of American power and proficiency in American history."
Now he is gambling his legacy on that success continuing, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unknown. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for years while stabilising a region that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
