Following executing a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a striking press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief announced that US military forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then said that a team comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the embattled nation.
"We are going to manage the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" involves is uncertain, but the commitment marks an abrupt change of course for the president, rife with inconsistencies and formidable challenges.
A leader who ran on opposing "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now staking his administration on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is in ruins and whose governmental stability has been eroded by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He pledged to enlist American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's crumbling 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're not afraid of boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he told reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent of the US intervention of Iraq, will now have to consider the words of one of the American planners of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "You break it, you bought it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has reshaped Venezuela's destiny – whether for good or ill.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has shown that he is quite prepared to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike previous operations, which have largely involved rockets and aircraft that minimize the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are notably different.
His goal, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Domestic and International Reaction
That variation of Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan may be hard for some of Trump's followers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who split from the president after accusing him of abandoning his core supporters, was swift to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is justified because we are forced to pay for it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "firm and legitimate".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe 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 national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, land and assets that are fundamental to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will raise larger concerns in international relations, however, and affect American relations with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing surprise and condemning what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed worry about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were blunter.
"America 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 criminal and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's decision not to consult with legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and uphold democratic 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 "disclose" details of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a success – with zero American casualties and minimal harm to US equipment. Trump, with his typical confidence, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most stunning, effective and powerful demonstrations of American military might and competency in American history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that victory continuing, as the US says it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unknown. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for years while stabilising a region that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
