Following launching a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building business.
In a striking press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief announced that US military forces had successfully seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a group including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the embattled nation.
"We are going to manage the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" actually means is uncertain, but the pledge marks an sudden policy reversal for the president, laden with inconsistencies and daunting obstacles.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America first" international policy is now staking his administration on effectively rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is in ruins and whose political stability has been eroded by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was persistently confident.
He stated his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He promised to recruit American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing capital for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of 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 sharp critic of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to consider the words of one of the American planners 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 – whether for good or ill.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is ready to use armed force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck atomic sites in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous operations, which have mostly involved missiles and aircraft that reduce the risk of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are markedly distinct.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan may be hard for some of Trump's supporters to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who broke with the president after accusing him of abandoning his core supporters, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's perpetual military aggression and support of foreign wars is understandable because we are forced to pay for it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake 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 "criminal regime" as "decisive and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without 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 trade, territory and assets that are fundamental to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will provoke broader questions in global politics, however, and impact American ties with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese government released a statement expressing surprise and condemning what it said was a irresponsible assault on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed worry about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were more direct.
"The United States should not be managing other countries for any reason," 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 catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's choice not to inform congressional leaders prior to launching 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 placing America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" particulars of the operation prior to 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 typical bravado, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and powerful demonstrations of American military might and proficiency in US history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that victory enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means is unclear. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for years while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
