In the wake of launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the state-building arena.
In a remarkable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief stated that US military forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a group including 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 administer the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" entails is unclear, but the pledge signifies an abrupt shift in direction for the president, full of contradictions and significant challenges.
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 betting his administration on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose political stability has been eroded by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly confident.
He stated his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He promised to recruit American energy companies to repair Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, providing funds for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude 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 vocal opponent of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to remember 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 – whether for good or ill.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has proven that he is ready to use armed force worldwide.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike previous actions, which have mostly involved missiles 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 different.
His objective, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That twist on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan could be difficult for some of Trump's supporters to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who split from the president after charging him of abandoning his political base, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's never ending military aggression and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable because we are forced to pay for it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning 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 describing 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 advanced his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Trump Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, land and resources that are central to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will provoke broader questions in global politics, however, and impact American ties with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing shock and condemning what it said was a reckless attack on a sovereign nation.
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 ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"The United States should not be managing other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have understood by now not to get entangled in endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to abide by the law and protect institutional 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 "leak" particulars of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a triumph – with zero American deaths and limited damage to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most stunning, effective and powerful demonstrations of American power and proficiency in American history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that success enduring, as the US says it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means is unknown. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while calming a hemisphere that is bound to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
