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 notable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president announced that US military forces had successfully seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a team including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the embattled 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 "running the country" entails is ambiguous, but the vow marks an dramatic policy reversal for the president, full of inconsistencies and significant obstacles.
A president who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America First" international policy is now betting his administration on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been eroded by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He promised to recruit American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, supplying funds for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude sending American soldiers to Venezuela to progress 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 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: "If you break it, you own it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has reshaped Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is more than willing to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to previous operations, which have largely involved missiles and warplanes that minimize the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are notably distinct.
His objective, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Domestic and International Reaction
That twist on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan may be hard for some of Trump's supporters to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who split from the president after charging him of abandoning his political base, was swift to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's perpetual use of force and support of foreign wars is justified because we are forced to fund it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the legal justification 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 supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, the president argued 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 early 19th Century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, territory and resources that are fundamental to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will raise broader concerns in international relations, however, and impact American relations with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement voicing shock and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible assault on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed concern about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"America should not be running other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have learned by now not to get entangled in endless wars and regime change missions that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's choice not to consult with legislative leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to follow the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting 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 prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a success – with zero American deaths and minimal harm to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most astonishing, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competency in American history."
Now he is gambling his legacy on that victory enduring, as the US says it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his administration 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 international strategy has in store for them.
