In the wake of launching a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the nation-building arena.
In a striking media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president stated that US forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a delegation comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating 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 careful transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" actually means is uncertain, but the pledge represents an sudden change of course for the president, rife with inconsistencies and daunting challenges.
A leader who campaigned against "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now gambling his presidency on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly confident.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He pledged to enlist American oil firms to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, supplying financing for the American rebuilding project and benefitting 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 told 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 Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has reshaped Venezuela's prospects – 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 more than willing to use military force around the globe.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to past operations, which have largely involved rockets and aircraft that reduce the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are markedly distinct.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra might prove hard for some of Trump's backers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who broke with the president after charging him of abandoning his political base, was swift to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's never ending military aggression and backing for foreign wars is justified because we are compelled to fund 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 drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim confiscated 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 "firm and justified".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He resurrected 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 action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, land and assets that are core to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will raise larger questions in international relations, however, and affect American ties with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese government released a statement expressing shock and condemning what it said was a reckless attack on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be leaning 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 excuse their illegal and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics were more direct.
"America should not be running other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have learned by now not to get involved in endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders before initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a triumph – with no American deaths and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his typical confidence, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American power and proficiency in American history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that victory continuing, as the US says it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means is unclear. He and his team must rebuild a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while calming a region that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
