Following launching a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a striking press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president declared that US forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a delegation featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the troubled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "governing the state" involves is uncertain, but the commitment marks an abrupt shift in direction for the president, rife with contradictions and significant obstacles.
A president who ran on opposing "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US efforts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now staking his administration on effectively reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been eroded by years 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 vowed to recruit American oil firms to repair Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, providing capital for the American rebuilding project and aiding 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 informed reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent of the US invasion 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 break it, you own it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has altered Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has proven that he is quite prepared to use armed force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, suspected drug-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 largely involved missiles and aircraft that reduce the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are strikingly different.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Response at Home and Abroad
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra may be difficult for some of Trump's backers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who split from the president after accusing him of abandoning his political base, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is justified 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 prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "firm and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect commerce, territory and assets that are core to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will raise broader concerns in international relations, however, and affect American ties with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing shock and condemning what it said was a reckless attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable condemnations 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 seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced concern about the signal 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."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
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 entangled in perpetual conflicts and regime change missions that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's choice not to inform legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty to follow the law and uphold institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "disclose" particulars of the operation prior to 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 confidence, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most stunning, effective and impressive demonstrations of American military might and competency in US history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that victory continuing, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for 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 years while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
