Following executing a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the state-building business.
In a notable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president announced that US 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, working with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the troubled nation.
"We are going to administer the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "managing the nation" involves is uncertain, but the commitment marks an dramatic policy reversal for the president, rife with inconsistencies and daunting obstacles.
A leader who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now gambling his presidency on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been eroded by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He pledged to enlist American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, providing financing for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out sending American soldiers to Venezuela to further 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 intervention of Iraq, will now have to remember 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."
An Altered International Stance
The US has altered Venezuela's future – 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 proven that he is ready to use armed force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike previous actions, which have mostly involved missiles and warplanes that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Domestic and International Reaction
That variation of Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - mantra could be tough for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who broke with the president after accusing him of abandoning his political base, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending military aggression and backing for overseas conflicts is justified 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 notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it ensured US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded 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 trade, territory and resources that are core to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke broader concerns in international relations, however, and affect American ties with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement voicing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents 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 perpetual conflicts and regime change missions that carry catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated 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 initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty 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, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" particulars of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a triumph – with no American casualties and minimal damage to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most astonishing, successful and impressive displays of American power and proficiency in US history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that victory enduring, as the US claims it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unclear. He and his team must rebuild a nation that has been in chaos for decades while calming a region that is sure to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
