Following launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a notable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort 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 featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "governing the state" entails is ambiguous, but the vow signifies an abrupt policy reversal for the president, rife with contradictions and significant challenges.
A leader who ran on opposing "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America first" international policy is now betting his presidency on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economic system is in ruins and whose political stability has been undermined by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly confident.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He pledged to enlist American energy companies to repair Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying capital for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude deploying 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 vocal opponent of the US intervention of Iraq, will now have to heed 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 future – for better or worse.
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 military force worldwide.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to past actions, which have mostly involved rockets and warplanes that reduce the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His objective, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove hard for some of Trump's supporters to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who split from the president after accusing him of deserting his political base, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless use of force and support of overseas conflicts is understandable because we are compelled to finance it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another notable Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention 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 resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Trump Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect commerce, land and resources that are central to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will raise larger questions in global politics, however, and affect American ties with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing surprise and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible assault on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed concern about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"The United States should not be managing other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have understood by now not to get entangled in perpetual conflicts and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's choice not to inform congressional leaders before launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" details of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a success – with no American deaths and minimal damage to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most stunning, effective and powerful demonstrations of American military might and competency in American history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that success continuing, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means is unknown. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a region that is bound to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
