Following executing a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the state-building business.
In a notable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief announced that US military forces had successfully apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then said that a group comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working 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, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" entails is unclear, but the commitment signifies an abrupt shift in direction for the president, full of contradictions and formidable challenges.
A leader who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America first" international policy is now gambling his administration on effectively reconstructing a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose political stability has been eroded by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was persistently optimistic.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He pledged to recruit American oil firms to repair Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying funds for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out 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 informed reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent of the US intervention 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 shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has redefined Venezuela's future – whether for good or ill.
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 around the globe.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias 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 harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His objective, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That play on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - mantra may be difficult for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who broke with the president after accusing him of deserting his political base, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless use of force 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 notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action 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 ensured US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Trump Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, land and assets that are core to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will provoke larger questions in global politics, however, and impact American relations with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing surprise and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were more direct.
"The United States should not be managing other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have learned by now not to get involved in perpetual conflicts and regime change missions that carry devastating results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's decision not to consult with legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" particulars of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American deaths and minimal damage to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most stunning, effective and powerful demonstrations of American power and competency in US history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that success continuing, as the US claims it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unknown. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is sure to be cautious of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
