Following launching a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be entering the state-building business.
In a striking news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president announced that US military forces had effectively seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then said that a team including 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 safe, proper and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" entails is unclear, but the vow signifies an abrupt policy reversal for the president, laden with inconsistencies and significant challenges.
A president who ran on opposing "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now staking his presidency on effectively reconstructing a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been undermined by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly confident.
He stated his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He pledged to recruit American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, supplying financing for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of deploying American soldiers to Venezuela to further these efforts. "We do not fear 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: "You break it, you bought it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has redefined Venezuela's destiny – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has shown that he is quite prepared to use armed force worldwide.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to previous actions, which have largely involved missiles and aircraft that reduce the risk of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are notably different.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That twist on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan could be tough for some of Trump's supporters to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who broke with the president after charging him of deserting his core supporters, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless use of force and support of foreign wars is understandable because we are compelled to fund it," she stated. "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 drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He resurrected 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 "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, land and assets that are fundamental to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke larger concerns in global politics, however, and affect American ties with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement voicing surprise and denouncing what it said was a reckless assault on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"The United States should not be running other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have understood by now not to get involved in endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's choice not to consult with congressional leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to follow the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" details of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a success – with zero American deaths and minimal damage to US equipment. Trump, with his typical confidence, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most astonishing, successful and powerful demonstrations of American military might and competency in US history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that victory continuing, as the US claims it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unclear. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for decades while calming a hemisphere that is bound to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
