Following launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building business.
In a notable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate 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 delegation including 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 precisely "running the country" actually means is unclear, but the vow signifies an dramatic policy reversal for the president, rife with contradictions and significant challenges.
A president who ran on opposing "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now gambling his presidency on effectively reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose political stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He vowed to enlist American energy companies to repair Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying funds for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of sending American soldiers to Venezuela to progress 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 consider the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you break it, you own it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has redefined Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has proven that he is quite prepared to use military force around the globe.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to previous operations, which have mostly involved rockets and aircraft that reduce the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are strikingly different.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan could be difficult for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who split from the president after accusing him of abandoning his core supporters, was quick to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's perpetual use of force and support of overseas conflicts is understandable 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 notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "firm and legitimate".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Trump Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, land and assets that are central to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will provoke broader concerns in international relations, however, and impact American relations with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese government released a statement expressing surprise and condemning what it said was a reckless attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"America 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 devastating results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's decision not to inform legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to follow the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" particulars of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a success – with zero American deaths and limited damage to US assets. Trump, with his typical bravado, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most astonishing, effective and impressive demonstrations of American military might and proficiency in US history."
Now he is betting his legacy on that success enduring, as the US claims it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means is unknown. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for years while calming a hemisphere that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
