Following launching a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be entering the nation-building business.
In a notable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president stated that US forces had effectively seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then said that a team comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the embattled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" actually means is uncertain, but the pledge represents an dramatic change of course for the president, full of inconsistencies and significant challenges.
A president who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now betting his administration on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been undermined by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He pledged to enlist American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, providing capital for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of sending American soldiers to Venezuela to advance these efforts. "We're not afraid of boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he told reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US invasion 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 altered Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is ready to use armed force worldwide.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to past actions, which have largely involved missiles and aircraft that reduce the risk of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are notably different.
His objective, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Domestic and International Reaction
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove hard for some of Trump's backers to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who split from the president after accusing him of deserting his political base, 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 overseas conflicts is justified because we are forced to fund it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "firm and justified".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Trump 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 security policy, he said, was to "protect trade, territory and assets that are core to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will raise larger questions in international relations, however, and affect American relations with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement voicing shock and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible assault on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"America should not be administering other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have learned by now not to get entangled in perpetual conflicts and regime change missions 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 condemned Trump's choice not to inform congressional leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to abide by the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "disclose" details of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a triumph – with no American deaths and limited harm to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most astonishing, effective and powerful displays of American power and proficiency in US history."
Now he is staking his legacy on that success enduring, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unclear. He and his administration must rebuild a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
