In the wake of executing a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be entering the state-building business.
In a striking news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief declared that US forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a team featuring 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 administer the country until such time as we can do a safe, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" entails is ambiguous, but the commitment signifies an abrupt policy reversal for the president, full of contradictions and formidable challenges.
A leader who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US attempts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now staking his administration on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose political stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He promised to enlist American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, supplying funds for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude 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 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."
An Altered International Stance
The US has reshaped Venezuela's future – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is quite prepared to use armed force worldwide.
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.
Unlike past operations, which have mostly involved missiles and aircraft that minimize the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are notably distinct.
His goal, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Domestic and International Reaction
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove difficult for some of Trump's backers to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who split from the president after accusing him of abandoning his core supporters, was quick to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's never ending use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable because we are compelled to finance it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another notable Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to reclaim 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 warranted".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US hemispheric 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 free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect commerce, land and assets that are fundamental to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will provoke broader concerns in international relations, however, and affect American ties with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless attack on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced concern about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"America should not be running other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have understood by now not to get entangled in endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's choice not to inform congressional leaders before initiating the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, said 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 military operation was a triumph – with zero American casualties and limited damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most stunning, successful and powerful demonstrations of American power and proficiency in American history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that success enduring, as the US claims it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unclear. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a region that is bound to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
