In the wake of launching a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building business.
In a notable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief stated that US 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 embattled nation.
"We are going to manage the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" entails is unclear, but the vow represents an abrupt change of course for the president, full of contradictions and daunting challenges.
A president who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America first" international policy is now betting his administration on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been eroded by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly optimistic.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He vowed to recruit American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, supplying capital for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out sending 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 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 break it, you own it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has redefined Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has shown that he is more than willing to use military force around the globe.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck atomic sites in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike past operations, which have mostly involved rockets and aircraft that minimize the risk of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are notably different.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - mantra might prove hard for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who split from the president after accusing him of deserting his core supporters, was swift to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's perpetual military aggression and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable because we are compelled to fund it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Trump Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, territory and assets that are fundamental to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will provoke larger questions in global politics, however, and affect American relations with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement expressing surprise and condemning what it said was a irresponsible 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 mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed worry about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were more direct.
"The United States should not be running other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have understood by now not to get involved in endless wars and regime change missions that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said 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.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty to follow the law and uphold institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" details of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a triumph – with zero American casualties and minimal harm to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competency in US history."
Now he is betting his legacy on that success enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his team must rebuild a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a region that is bound to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
