In the wake of launching a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a striking media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president stated that US forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a team comprising 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 run the country until such time as we can do a safe, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" involves is ambiguous, but the commitment represents an sudden policy reversal for the president, full of contradictions and daunting obstacles.
A leader who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now gambling his presidency on effectively reconstructing 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 upbeat.
He stated his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He pledged to recruit American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, supplying financing for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of deploying 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 sharp critic of the US intervention of Iraq, will now have to heed 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 Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has altered Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is more than willing to use military force around the globe.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to past operations, which have largely involved missiles and aircraft that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the future 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 - mantra may be hard for some of Trump's backers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who split from the president after charging him of abandoning his political base, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending use of force and support of overseas conflicts is understandable because we are forced to fund it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another notable Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and warranted".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it ensured US hemispheric 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 free from influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Trump Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, territory and resources that are fundamental to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will raise broader questions in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement expressing surprise and condemning what it said was a reckless attack on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"The United States should not be administering 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 stated Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's choice not to inform legislative leaders prior to launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" details of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a triumph – with zero American deaths and minimal harm to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, effective and impressive demonstrations of American military might and competency in US history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that success continuing, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means is unclear. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for years while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
