In the wake of executing a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the state-building business.
In a striking news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief declared that US forces had effectively apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a team comprising 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 run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" involves is ambiguous, but the commitment signifies an abrupt policy reversal for the president, rife with contradictions and significant challenges.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now staking his administration 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 upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He promised to enlist American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, supplying capital for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude sending American soldiers to Venezuela to advance these efforts. "We do not fear boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he told reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic 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 redefined Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising 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, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous actions, which have largely involved missiles and aircraft that minimize the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are markedly distinct.
His objective, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra may be hard for some of Trump's backers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who split from the president after charging him of abandoning his core supporters, was swift to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless military aggression and backing for foreign wars is understandable 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 critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and justified".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-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 not be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect commerce, territory and assets that are fundamental to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will provoke larger questions in international relations, however, and affect American ties with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement expressing shock and condemning what it said was a reckless assault on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia after 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 more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"America should not be administering other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have understood by now not to get involved in endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump 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 demands."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" details of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a success – with zero American deaths and minimal harm to US assets. Trump, with his typical confidence, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, effective and impressive demonstrations of American military might and proficiency in US history."
Now he is staking his legacy on that success continuing, as the US claims it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means is unclear. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for decades while calming a hemisphere that is sure to be cautious of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
