In the wake of executing a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the nation-building arena.
In a remarkable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president announced that US military forces had successfully captured 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, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to manage the country until such time as we can do a safe, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" entails is ambiguous, but the vow marks an abrupt policy reversal for the president, laden with inconsistencies and daunting challenges.
A leader who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now betting his administration on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is in ruins and whose political stability has been undermined by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He stated his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He pledged to recruit American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, supplying funds for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of sending American soldiers to Venezuela to advance these efforts. "We do not fear boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he informed reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US intervention 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 shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has redefined Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has proven that he is more than willing to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he ordered 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, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike past actions, which have mostly involved rockets and aircraft that minimize the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are notably different.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - mantra may be difficult for some of Trump's supporters to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who broke with the president after accusing him of abandoning his core supporters, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable because we are forced to pay for it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and legitimate".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it ensured US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic 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 "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, land and assets that are core to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will raise larger concerns in international relations, however, and affect American relations with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing surprise and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible 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 attempting to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed concern about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics 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 devastating consequences 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 choice not to consult with legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "disclose" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a success – with no American deaths and limited damage to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most astonishing, successful and impressive displays of American power and proficiency in US history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that success continuing, as the US says it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his administration must rebuild a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a region that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
