In the wake of executing a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building business.
In a remarkable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president declared that US military forces had effectively seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then said that a team comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working 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 exactly "running the country" actually means is ambiguous, but the commitment represents an dramatic policy reversal for the president, full of contradictions and daunting challenges.
A leader who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now gambling his presidency on effectively rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is in ruins and whose governmental stability has been undermined by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly upbeat.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He promised to recruit American energy companies to repair Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, supplying funds for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of sending American soldiers to Venezuela to further these efforts. "We do not fear 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 heed 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 entered office 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 ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike past operations, which have largely involved rockets and warplanes that minimize the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are strikingly different.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra might prove difficult for some of Trump's followers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who split from the president after accusing him of deserting his core supporters, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's perpetual military aggression and backing for overseas conflicts is justified because we are forced to finance it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification 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.
Most Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "firm and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Trump Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect commerce, territory and assets that are core to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's decision 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 government issued a statement voicing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless assault on a independent country.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed worry about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics 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 entangled in perpetual conflicts and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's choice not to consult with congressional leaders before initiating the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to abide by the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" particulars of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a success – with zero 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 powerful demonstrations of American power and competency in US history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that victory continuing, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for years while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
