In the wake of launching a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a remarkable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief declared that US military forces had effectively seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a delegation featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "governing the state" entails is unclear, but the vow represents an sudden policy reversal for the president, laden with inconsistencies and daunting obstacles.
A president who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US efforts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now gambling his presidency on effectively reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been undermined by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was persistently confident.
He stated his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He promised to recruit American oil firms to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, providing financing for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude 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 consider 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 reshaped Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is quite prepared to use armed force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike previous actions, which have largely involved rockets and aircraft that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are notably different.
His objective, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove tough for some of Trump's supporters to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who split from the president after accusing him of abandoning his core supporters, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's perpetual military aggression and support of 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. How mistaken we were."
Another prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim confiscated 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".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, land and resources that are central to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will raise larger questions in international relations, however, and affect American relations with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing surprise and denouncing what it said was a reckless 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 message 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 rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"America should not be managing 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 endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's decision not to inform legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to follow the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "disclose" details of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a success – with zero American casualties and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his typical confidence, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and proficiency in American history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that success continuing, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing 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 hemisphere that is sure to be apprehensive of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
