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 notable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president declared that US military forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a team comprising 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 judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" involves is ambiguous, but the commitment signifies an abrupt policy reversal for the president, laden with contradictions and significant challenges.
A president who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America First" international policy is now gambling his presidency on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly optimistic.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He promised to enlist American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, supplying funds for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out sending American soldiers to Venezuela to progress 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 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."
An Altered International Stance
The US has altered Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is more than willing to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous actions, which have mostly involved rockets and aircraft that reduce the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are markedly different.
His objective, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Response at Home and Abroad
That play on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan might prove hard for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who split from the president after accusing him of abandoning his core supporters, was quick to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable because we are forced to finance it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump critic, 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 retake seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and warranted".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it ensured US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, territory and assets that are core to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will raise broader questions in global politics, however, and impact American ties with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement voicing shock and condemning what it said was a irresponsible assault on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics 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 learned by now not to get entangled in endless wars and regime change missions that carry devastating results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's choice not to inform legislative leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" particulars of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a triumph – with no American deaths and minimal harm to US equipment. Trump, with his typical bravado, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most astonishing, successful and powerful displays of American military might and proficiency in US history."
Now he is staking his legacy on that victory continuing, as the US claims it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unclear. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for decades while calming a region that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
