Following executing a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be entering the nation-building business.
In a notable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief announced that US military forces had successfully seized 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 seizing the reins of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "governing the state" entails is ambiguous, but the commitment marks an sudden policy reversal for the president, full of contradictions and daunting challenges.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America first" international policy is now betting his administration on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is in ruins and whose governmental stability has been eroded by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently optimistic.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He pledged to recruit American oil firms to repair Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, supplying capital for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of 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 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: "If you shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has reshaped Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is quite prepared to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to previous operations, which have largely involved missiles and aircraft that minimize the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are markedly different.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan could be difficult for some of Trump's followers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who broke with the president after accusing him of deserting his political base, was swift to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending military aggression and support of foreign wars is justified because we are compelled to finance it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine 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 describing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and justified".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it ensured US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Trump Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, land and resources that are fundamental to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will provoke broader concerns in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless attack on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to broker a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced worry about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics were more direct.
"The United States should not be managing 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 involved in endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's choice not to inform congressional leaders prior to 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 placing America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American deaths and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his typical bravado, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and impressive demonstrations of American power and proficiency in US history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that victory enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unknown. He and his administration must strengthen a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
