In the wake of launching a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a remarkable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president stated that US military forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a delegation comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be assuming 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" entails is uncertain, but the commitment marks an abrupt policy reversal for the president, full of contradictions and significant obstacles.
A leader who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now staking his administration on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is in ruins and whose governmental stability has been eroded by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He promised to enlist American oil firms to repair Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, supplying funds for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of sending American soldiers to Venezuela to further these efforts. "We do not fear boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he told 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: "If you shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has altered Venezuela's destiny – whether for good or ill.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is more than willing to use armed force around the globe.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous operations, which have largely involved rockets and aircraft that reduce the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are strikingly different.
His objective, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Response at Home and Abroad
That twist on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - mantra may be hard 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 core supporters, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's never ending use of force and support of foreign wars is understandable 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 notable Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake seized US oil and halt 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".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it ensured US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect trade, territory and resources that are fundamental to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will provoke broader questions in international relations, however, and affect American relations with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese government released a statement voicing shock and condemning what it said was a reckless attack on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced concern about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were blunter.
"America should not be managing 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 involved in endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry devastating results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's decision not to consult with congressional 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 putting America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a success – with zero American deaths and minimal harm to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most stunning, effective and impressive demonstrations of American military might and proficiency in US history."
Now he is gambling his legacy on that success enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unknown. He and his administration must rebuild a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while calming a region that is sure to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
