Following executing a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building business.
In a notable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president stated that US forces had successfully seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a delegation including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the troubled 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 "running the country" involves is unclear, but the pledge marks an dramatic change of course for the president, rife with contradictions and significant obstacles.
A leader who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America First" international policy is now betting his presidency on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose political stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He pledged to enlist American oil firms to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying capital for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of 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 consider the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "You break it, you bought it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has reshaped Venezuela's future – for better or worse.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has shown that he is more than willing to use armed force around the globe.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike past operations, which have largely involved rockets and warplanes that minimize the risk of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are notably different.
His objective, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Response at Home and Abroad
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove tough for some of Trump's backers to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who broke with the president after accusing him of abandoning his core supporters, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's never ending military aggression and backing for foreign wars is justified because we are compelled to fund it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "firm and warranted".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from 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 security policy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, territory and resources that are fundamental to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke broader concerns in global politics, however, and affect American ties with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement expressing surprise and condemning what it said was a reckless attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar condemnations 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 frequently appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed concern about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"The United States should not be running other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have understood by now not to get entangled in endless wars and regime change missions that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's decision not to inform legislative leaders before initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty to follow the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American deaths and limited harm to US equipment. Trump, with his typical bravado, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most stunning, successful and impressive displays of American military might and proficiency in American history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that success continuing, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unclear. He and his team must rebuild a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
