In the wake of executing a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a remarkable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president announced that US forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a group comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" entails is ambiguous, but the commitment represents an abrupt policy reversal for the president, laden with contradictions and formidable obstacles.
A president who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now betting his administration on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been undermined by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently confident.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He promised to enlist American oil firms to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, supplying funds for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out 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 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 prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is ready 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, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to previous actions, which have mostly involved rockets and aircraft that reduce the risk of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are strikingly different.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Domestic and International Reaction
That play on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan may be tough for some of Trump's supporters to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who split from the president after accusing him of deserting his political base, was quick to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless use of force and support of overseas conflicts is understandable because we are forced to fund it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive 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 regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He resurrected 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 "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect commerce, territory and resources that are fundamental to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will raise broader questions in international relations, however, and affect American ties with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing shock and condemning what it said was a reckless assault on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced concern about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics were blunter.
"The United States should not be administering other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have learned by now not to get involved in endless wars and regime change missions that carry devastating results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's choice not to consult with congressional leaders prior to launching the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
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.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a success – with zero American casualties and limited damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and impressive displays of American military might and competency in US history."
Now he is betting his legacy on that success enduring, as the US says it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for decades while stabilising a region that is sure to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
