Following launching a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be entering the nation-building business.
In a notable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief announced 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 featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to manage the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" involves is uncertain, but the vow marks an abrupt change of course for the president, rife with contradictions and daunting challenges.
A president who ran on opposing "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now staking his administration on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economy is in ruins and whose governmental stability has been undermined by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was persistently confident.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He promised to enlist American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing capital for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out deploying 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 informed reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to heed the words of one of the American planners of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you break it, you own it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has reshaped Venezuela's future – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is more than willing to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous actions, which have mostly involved rockets and aircraft that reduce the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His objective, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Domestic and International Reaction
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan may be tough for some of Trump's followers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who split from the president after charging him of deserting his political base, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless military aggression and backing for foreign wars is understandable because we are compelled 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, compared 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 rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "firm and warranted".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic policy that asserted 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 not be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect trade, territory and assets that are fundamental to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke broader questions in global politics, however, and affect American relations with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese government released a statement voicing surprise and condemning what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced concern about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"America should not be administering other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the 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 stated Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's choice not to consult with congressional leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and uphold institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "disclose" particulars of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a success – with no American casualties and minimal harm to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most astonishing, successful and powerful demonstrations of American military might and competency in American history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that success enduring, as the US says it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unclear. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for years while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
