In the wake of executing a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a remarkable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief stated that US forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation 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 secure, proper and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" actually means is uncertain, but the vow signifies an sudden policy reversal for the president, full of inconsistencies and significant obstacles.
A leader who ran on opposing "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America First" international policy is now gambling his administration on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is collapsed and whose political 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 will be no exception. He promised to enlist American energy companies to repair Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, providing financing for the American rebuilding project 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 planners of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has altered Venezuela's destiny – whether for good or ill.
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 armed force worldwide.
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, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike past operations, which have mostly involved rockets and warplanes that reduce the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His objective, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That play on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan could be difficult for some of Trump's supporters to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who broke with 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 never ending use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable because we are forced to pay for 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, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and warranted".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from 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 questioned again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect commerce, land and resources that are central to our national security." He labeled 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 global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement expressing surprise and condemning what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable censures 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 leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed worry about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"The United States should not be running other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have understood by now not to get entangled in endless wars and regime change missions that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's choice not to consult with legislative leaders prior to launching the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to abide by the law and uphold institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "disclose" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a triumph – with zero American deaths and limited damage to US equipment. Trump, with his typical confidence, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, effective and impressive displays of American military might and proficiency in American history."
Now he is betting his legacy on that victory continuing, as the US says it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unknown. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while calming a region that is bound to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
