In the wake of launching a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be entering the nation-building business.
In a striking media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief stated that US forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a group including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the beleaguered 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 commitment represents an dramatic policy reversal for the president, rife with inconsistencies and significant challenges.
A president who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America first" international policy is now betting his presidency on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been eroded by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He promised to recruit American oil firms to repair Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, providing funds for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting 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 informed reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent of the US intervention of Iraq, will now have to remember 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 reshaped Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated 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 drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to previous operations, which have mostly involved rockets and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are notably different.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Domestic and International Reaction
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra may be hard for some of Trump's backers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who split from the president after accusing him of deserting his political base, 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 foreign wars is justified because we are compelled to pay for it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump critic, 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 reclaim confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and legitimate".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that declared 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 preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, land and resources that are core to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will raise larger concerns in international relations, however, and impact American relations with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese government released a statement expressing shock and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible assault on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"America 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 involved 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 rights violations. But he condemned Trump's decision not to consult with congressional leaders before initiating the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to abide by the law and protect institutional 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 worried they would "disclose" details of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a triumph – with no American casualties and limited damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most astonishing, successful and impressive demonstrations of American power and competency in American history."
Now he is gambling his legacy on that victory enduring, as the US claims it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unclear. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
