Following launching a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the state-building business.
In a remarkable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president announced that US military forces had effectively apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then said that a delegation comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the troubled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "managing the nation" involves is ambiguous, but the commitment signifies an sudden shift in direction for the president, rife with inconsistencies and formidable obstacles.
A president who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now betting his administration on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose political stability has been undermined by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He pledged to recruit American oil firms to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, providing capital for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of deploying American soldiers to Venezuela to advance 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 invasion 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 break it, you own it."
An Altered International Stance
The US has reshaped Venezuela's future – whether for good or ill.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is more than willing to use armed force around the globe.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous operations, which have largely involved rockets and aircraft that minimize the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are markedly distinct.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That play on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - mantra could be hard for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who broke with the president after accusing him of abandoning his political base, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless use of force and support of overseas conflicts is understandable 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 notable Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the official rationale 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.
The majority of Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and justified".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic policy that asserted 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 "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, territory and assets that are core to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will raise broader concerns in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese government released a statement expressing shock and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible attack on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often appeared 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 invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"The United States should not be managing 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 results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's decision not to consult with legislative leaders before initiating the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to follow the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" details of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a success – with no American casualties and limited damage to US assets. Trump, with his typical 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 legacy on that success enduring, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unclear. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a region that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
