In the wake of launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a striking media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president announced that US forces had effectively seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a group featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the troubled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "managing the nation" actually means is uncertain, but the vow represents an sudden change of course for the president, laden with inconsistencies and formidable challenges.
A leader who ran on opposing "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America first" international policy is now staking his presidency on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economic system is in ruins and whose political stability has been undermined by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly optimistic.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He vowed to enlist American oil firms to repair Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, providing financing for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding 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 invasion 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 reshaped Venezuela's future – for better or worse.
Trump took office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is quite prepared to use military force around the globe.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, alleged narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to previous operations, which have mostly involved missiles and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That variation of Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - mantra may be hard for some of Trump's followers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who broke with the president after accusing him of abandoning his core supporters, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless use of force and support of overseas conflicts is understandable because we are compelled to fund it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another notable Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "firm and justified".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, land and assets that are central to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will raise larger questions in global politics, however, and impact American relations with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese government released a statement voicing shock and condemning what it said was a reckless attack on a independent country.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced worry about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were more direct.
"America should not be running other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have understood by now not to get involved in endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's decision not to consult with legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and uphold democratic 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 "disclose" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a triumph – with zero American casualties and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most astonishing, effective and impressive displays of American power and proficiency in US history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that success continuing, as the US says 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 chaos for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
