Following launching a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building business.
In a remarkable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president declared that US forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a team comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating 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 careful transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" entails is ambiguous, but the pledge represents an dramatic policy reversal for the president, rife with contradictions and significant challenges.
A leader who campaigned against "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US efforts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America first" international policy is now betting his presidency on effectively reconstructing a South American nation whose economic system is in ruins and whose political stability has been eroded by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He pledged to recruit American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, providing financing for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out sending American soldiers to Venezuela to advance 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 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: "If you break it, you own it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has reshaped Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is more than willing to use armed force around the globe.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to past operations, which have largely involved missiles and aircraft that reduce the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are markedly distinct.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Domestic and International Reaction
That variation of Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan might prove tough for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who broke with the president after charging him of deserting his political base, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's perpetual military aggression and support of overseas conflicts is understandable because we are forced to pay for 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 legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim confiscated US oil and halt 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 legitimate".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, territory and resources that are fundamental to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will raise larger concerns in international relations, however, and affect American ties with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing shock and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
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 understood by now not to get involved in endless wars and regime change missions that carry devastating results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's choice not to inform 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 demands."
Trump, in his remarks, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "disclose" details of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a triumph – with zero American deaths and limited damage to US equipment. Trump, with his typical bravado, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, effective and impressive demonstrations of American power and competency in American history."
Now he is gambling his legacy on that victory continuing, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unclear. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for years while calming a hemisphere that is bound to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
