Following launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a striking news conference 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 late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a group including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the troubled nation.
"We are going to administer the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" entails is uncertain, but the commitment marks an abrupt shift in direction for the president, laden with inconsistencies and daunting obstacles.
A leader who ran on opposing "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised 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 governmental stability has been eroded by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly optimistic.
He stated his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He pledged to enlist American energy companies to repair Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, supplying financing for the American rebuilding project and aiding 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 sharp critic of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to heed 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 Changed Global Approach
The US has reshaped 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 proven that he is ready to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike past actions, which have mostly involved rockets and aircraft that minimize the risk of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are strikingly different.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Domestic and International Reaction
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan may be tough for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who broke with the president after accusing him of deserting his political base, was swift to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's perpetual military aggression and support of overseas conflicts is justified 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 prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the official rationale 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.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and justified".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect commerce, land and resources that are core to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke broader questions in international relations, however, and impact 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 assault on a independent country.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to broker a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed concern about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were more direct.
"The United States should not be running other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the 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 said Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's decision not to consult with legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" particulars of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a success – with no American casualties and limited damage to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and impressive demonstrations of American military might and competency in US history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that victory continuing, as the US says it will assume responsibility for 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 calming a hemisphere that is bound to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
