Following executing a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a striking media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief announced that US military forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a delegation featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins 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 unclear, but the commitment signifies an dramatic change of course for the president, rife with inconsistencies and daunting obstacles.
A leader who ran on opposing "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America First" international policy is now gambling his administration on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is in ruins and whose governmental stability has been undermined by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly optimistic.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He pledged to enlist American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, providing capital for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude deploying 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: "You break it, you bought it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has altered Venezuela's destiny – whether for good or ill.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is quite prepared to use military force around the globe.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to previous actions, which have mostly involved missiles and aircraft that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra might prove tough for some of Trump's followers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who split from the president after charging him of deserting his core supporters, was swift to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless military aggression and backing for foreign wars is understandable because we are forced to finance it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and legitimate".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it ensured US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic policy that declared 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 "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, territory and resources that are central to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will provoke broader questions in global politics, however, and impact American relations with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing surprise and denouncing what it said was a reckless assault on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were more direct.
"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 learned by now not to get involved in endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's decision not to consult with congressional leaders before initiating the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" details of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a success – with zero American casualties and limited damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, successful and powerful demonstrations of American power and competency in US history."
Now he is staking his legacy on that success enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means is unknown. He and his team must rebuild a nation that has been in chaos for decades while calming a hemisphere that is bound to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
