Following launching a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building business.
In a remarkable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort 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 said that a team including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the embattled nation.
"We are going to manage the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" entails is unclear, but the vow represents an abrupt shift in direction for the president, rife with contradictions and significant challenges.
A leader who campaigned against "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now betting his administration on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been undermined by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly confident.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He promised to recruit American oil firms to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, providing funds for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude deploying 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 told reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic 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: "If you break it, you own it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has altered Venezuela's future – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is quite prepared to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to previous actions, which have largely involved missiles and aircraft that reduce the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Response at Home and Abroad
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove tough for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who broke with the president after charging him of abandoning his political base, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is justified because we are compelled to pay for it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another notable Trump detractor, 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 retake confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and justified".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
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 early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Trump Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect trade, land and assets that are core to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will provoke larger concerns in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese government released a statement voicing shock and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible attack on a independent country.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed concern about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"The United States should not be managing 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 entangled in perpetual conflicts and regime change missions that carry devastating results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's choice not to inform congressional leaders before initiating the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to follow the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "disclose" details of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation 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 "one of the most astonishing, effective and impressive displays of American power and proficiency in American history."
Now he is staking his legacy on that success continuing, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means is unknown. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for decades while stabilising a region that is sure to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
