In the wake of launching a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the state-building business.
In a striking media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief announced that US military forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a group including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the beleaguered 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 pledge marks an abrupt shift in direction for the president, full of inconsistencies and significant obstacles.
A president who ran on opposing "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now staking his presidency on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been eroded by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was persistently optimistic.
He stated his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He vowed to enlist American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing financing for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out deploying American soldiers to Venezuela to further these efforts. "We do not fear boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he told reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US intervention of Iraq, will now have to consider the words of one of the American planners of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "You break it, you bought it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has altered Venezuela's destiny – whether for good or ill.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has shown that he is ready to use military force around the globe.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike past actions, which have largely involved rockets and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – 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."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra could be tough for some of Trump's supporters to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who broke with the president after charging him of deserting his core supporters, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless use of force and backing for foreign wars is justified because we are forced to pay for 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 reasoning that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive 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 regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, territory and resources that are central to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will raise larger questions in international relations, however, and impact American relations with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement voicing surprise and condemning what it said was a reckless assault on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed 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 justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"The United States should not be managing 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 perpetual conflicts and regime change missions 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 legislative leaders before initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty to abide by the law and uphold institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "disclose" details of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a success – with zero American casualties and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most astonishing, effective and powerful demonstrations of American power and proficiency in American history."
Now he is betting 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 turmoil for years while calming a hemisphere that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
