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 remarkable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president declared that US forces had effectively apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a team including 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 manage the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" actually means is unclear, but the commitment marks an sudden shift in direction for the president, rife with contradictions and daunting challenges.
A president who ran on opposing "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now staking his presidency on effectively rebuilding a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been eroded by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly confident.
He claimed his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He pledged to recruit American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, providing capital for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting 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 sharp critic of the US intervention 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 shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has altered Venezuela's future – whether for good or ill.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has proven that he is quite prepared to use armed force around the globe.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to previous actions, which have mostly involved missiles and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are notably different.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Domestic and International Reaction
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove difficult for some of Trump's supporters to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who broke with the president after charging 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 support of overseas conflicts is justified because we are compelled to finance it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted 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.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, land and assets that are central to our national security." 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 major global powers.
The Chinese government released a statement expressing shock and condemning what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to broker a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced concern about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were more direct.
"The United States should not be administering 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 entangled in perpetual conflicts and regime change missions 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 decision not to consult with legislative leaders before initiating 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 putting America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, 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 military operation was a success – with zero American casualties and limited damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most stunning, effective and impressive displays of American power and proficiency in American history."
Now he is staking his legacy on that success enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unclear. He and his administration must rebuild a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while calming a region that is bound to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
