In the wake of launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a notable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president stated that US military forces had successfully seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a group featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" entails is uncertain, but the commitment represents an dramatic change of course for the president, rife with inconsistencies and formidable obstacles.
A leader who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America first" international policy is now staking his presidency on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose political stability has been undermined by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly confident.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He promised to enlist American oil firms to repair Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, supplying funds for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out 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 vocal opponent of the US invasion 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 shatter it, you are responsible for 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 peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is more than willing to use armed force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck atomic sites in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike previous operations, which have mostly 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 aim, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That twist on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan may be hard for some of Trump's supporters to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who split from the president after accusing him of deserting his core supporters, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's perpetual use of force and support of overseas conflicts is understandable because we are forced to fund it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "firm and justified".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a steady 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 renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, land and assets that are fundamental to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will provoke larger questions in global politics, however, and affect American ties with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement expressing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced worry about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"America should not be running other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have learned 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 lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's choice not to consult with legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to follow the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" details of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a triumph – with zero American casualties and limited harm to US equipment. Trump, with his typical confidence, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and powerful demonstrations of American military might and competency in American history."
Now he is gambling his legacy on that victory continuing, as the US says it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means is unclear. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for decades while stabilising a region that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
