Following launching a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a striking news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president stated that US military forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a team comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be assuming control 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 uncertain, but the commitment represents an abrupt shift in direction for the president, rife with contradictions and significant challenges.
A leader who ran on opposing "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US efforts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now betting his administration on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose political stability has been undermined by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly optimistic.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He vowed to recruit American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, providing financing for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out sending American soldiers to Venezuela to further these efforts. "We're not afraid of boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he told reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent of the US intervention of Iraq, will now have to heed the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "You break it, you bought it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has reshaped Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump took office nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has proven that he is ready to use armed force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged 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 aircraft that minimize the risk of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are notably distinct.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove difficult for some of Trump's supporters to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who broke with the president after charging him of deserting his core supporters, was swift to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's never ending use of force and backing for overseas conflicts 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 prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th 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 goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, land and assets that are fundamental to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will provoke larger concerns in international relations, however, and impact American relations with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing shock and condemning what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced concern about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were more direct.
"The United States should not be running other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Senate 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 said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's choice not to consult with congressional leaders prior to launching the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a success – with zero American casualties and limited damage to US equipment. Trump, with his typical confidence, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, effective and powerful demonstrations of American military might and competency in American history."
Now he is gambling his legacy on that victory continuing, as the US says it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unknown. He and his administration must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for years while stabilising a region that is sure to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
