Following executing a evening 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 declared that US forces had effectively seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a team featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the troubled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "governing the state" entails is uncertain, but the vow signifies an abrupt policy reversal for the president, full of inconsistencies and formidable challenges.
A leader who campaigned against "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America first" international policy is now betting his presidency on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently optimistic.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He vowed to enlist American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing financing for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out deploying American soldiers to Venezuela to further these efforts. "We're not afraid of 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 planners of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "You break it, you bought it."
An Altered International Stance
The US has redefined Venezuela's future – whether for good or ill.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has shown that he is more than willing to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to past actions, which have largely involved missiles and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are strikingly different.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That variation of Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - mantra could be hard for some of Trump's followers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who broke with the president after accusing him of deserting his political base, was swift to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless military aggression and support of foreign wars 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 critic, 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 confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and justified".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it ensured US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic 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 "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, land and assets that are fundamental to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke larger concerns in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing surprise and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible assault on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia after 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 moderate Republican congressman, voiced concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"America should not be managing other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Senate 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 stated Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's choice not to inform legislative leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty to follow the law and uphold democratic 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 "disclose" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a triumph – with zero American casualties and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his typical bravado, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, effective and impressive displays of American military might and competency in US history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that success enduring, as the US says it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while calming a hemisphere that is sure to be cautious of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
