Following launching a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building business.
In a remarkable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief declared that US forces had successfully apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a group including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the embattled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" involves is unclear, but the pledge signifies an dramatic change of course for the president, laden with contradictions and daunting obstacles.
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" international policy is now betting his administration on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is in ruins and whose governmental stability has been undermined by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He stated his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He pledged to recruit American oil firms to repair Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing capital for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude 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 vocal opponent of the US intervention 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 shatter it, you are responsible for it."
An Altered International Stance
The US has reshaped Venezuela's future – for better or worse.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is quite prepared to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike previous actions, which have mostly involved rockets and warplanes that minimize the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are strikingly different.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan could be tough for some of Trump's followers to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who split from the president after accusing him of deserting 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 foreign wars 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 critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and warranted".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect commerce, land and assets that are central to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will provoke larger questions in international relations, however, and affect American ties with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless attack on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar censures 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 often seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"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 entangled in endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's choice not to consult with legislative leaders prior to launching the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to abide by the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a triumph – with no American deaths and limited harm to US assets. Trump, with his typical confidence, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and impressive displays of American power and proficiency in American history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that victory continuing, as the US claims it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in turmoil for years while stabilising a region that is sure to be cautious of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
