Following launching a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the nation-building business.
In a striking news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president declared that US forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then said that a group featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the troubled 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 unclear, but the commitment marks an abrupt shift in direction for the president, rife with inconsistencies and significant challenges.
A leader who ran on opposing "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US attempts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now gambling his administration on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is in ruins and whose political stability has been eroded by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly optimistic.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He vowed to enlist American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying funds for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude sending American soldiers to Venezuela to advance 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 invasion 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 shatter it, you are responsible for it."
An Altered International Stance
The US has reshaped Venezuela's future – whether for good or ill.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is more than willing to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck atomic sites in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to past actions, which have mostly involved rockets and aircraft that reduce the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Domestic and International Reaction
That twist on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - mantra may be tough for some of Trump's supporters to accept.
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 condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's perpetual military aggression and support of overseas conflicts is justified because we are forced to pay for it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be without 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 never be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, land and assets that are core to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will raise larger questions in international relations, however, and affect American relations with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement expressing shock and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"The United States should not be managing other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have understood by now not to get entangled in perpetual conflicts and overthrow attempts that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's decision not to consult with congressional leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to follow the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" details of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a success – with zero American deaths and minimal harm to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and powerful demonstrations of American power and proficiency in US history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that success enduring, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means is unknown. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for years while stabilising a region that is sure to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
