In the wake of executing a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a remarkable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president announced that US forces had effectively seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a group comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the beleaguered 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 uncertain, but the pledge marks an abrupt change of course for the president, laden with inconsistencies and significant obstacles.
A leader who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America first" international policy is now betting his administration on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is in ruins and whose political stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He promised to enlist American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, supplying capital for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out 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 informed reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to consider the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "You break it, you bought it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has redefined Venezuela's destiny – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has shown that he is ready to use armed force around the globe.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck atomic sites in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike past operations, which have largely involved missiles and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are markedly different.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That variation of Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan may be tough for some of Trump's supporters to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time 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 perpetual use of force and backing for foreign wars is justified because we are compelled to pay for it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" 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 steady source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be without 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 not be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, land and assets that are core to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke larger concerns in global politics, however, and affect American relations with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement expressing shock and condemning what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia after its invasion 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 moderate Republican congressman, expressed concern about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"America should not be running other countries for any reason," 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 regime change missions that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's decision not to inform legislative leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and uphold institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a success – with zero American deaths and minimal harm to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most astonishing, successful and impressive demonstrations of American power and competency in American history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that victory continuing, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means is unclear. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while calming a region that is sure to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
