In the wake of launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building business.
In a striking media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president announced that US forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a delegation comprising 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 run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" involves is ambiguous, but the commitment represents an sudden shift in direction for the president, full of contradictions and significant challenges.
A president who ran on opposing "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America first" international policy is now staking his administration on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose political stability has been undermined by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He promised to enlist American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, supplying capital for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding 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 sharp critic of the US invasion 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 break it, you own it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has redefined Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has proven that he is more than willing to use armed force around the globe.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck atomic sites in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to previous actions, which have largely involved rockets and warplanes that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His goal, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Domestic and International Reaction
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan could be tough for some of Trump's supporters to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who broke with the president after accusing him of deserting his core supporters, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's perpetual military aggression and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable 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 detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to reclaim seized 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 "firm and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect commerce, territory and assets that are central to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke broader questions in global politics, however, and affect American relations with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing surprise and condemning what it said was a irresponsible assault on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden 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 frequently appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"The United States should not be administering other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have understood by now not to get entangled in perpetual conflicts and regime change missions that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's decision not to consult with legislative leaders before initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty to abide by the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" details of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a success – with zero American deaths and minimal harm to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American power and competency in US history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that success continuing, as the US says it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unclear. He and his administration must strengthen a nation that has been in turmoil for years while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
