In the wake of launching a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a striking news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president declared that US military forces had successfully apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a group comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the embattled nation.
"We are going to administer the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" involves is uncertain, but the vow represents an sudden shift in direction for the president, rife with inconsistencies and significant obstacles.
A leader who campaigned against "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America first" international policy is now betting his administration on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He promised to recruit American energy companies to repair Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, providing financing for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of deploying American soldiers to Venezuela to advance these efforts. "We're not afraid of 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 break it, you own it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has redefined Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago promising 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 ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike previous operations, which have mostly involved missiles and aircraft that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are markedly different.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Response at Home and Abroad
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra could be difficult for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who split from the president after charging him of deserting his core supporters, was quick to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is justified because we are compelled to pay for 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 drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and justified".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, 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 early 19th Century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be without 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 goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, land and assets that are central to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will provoke broader concerns in international relations, however, and affect American relations with the world's other significant global 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 comparable condemnations 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 appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were blunter.
"The United States should not be running other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have learned by now not to get involved 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 rights violations. But he condemned Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders prior to launching the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to abide by the law and uphold institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" particulars of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a triumph – with zero American casualties and minimal damage to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most astonishing, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competency in American history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that victory enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for years while calming a hemisphere that is sure to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
