In the wake of executing a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building business.
In a notable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief stated that US forces had effectively apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a team featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the embattled nation.
"We are going to manage the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" actually means is uncertain, but the commitment marks an abrupt shift in direction for the president, full of inconsistencies and daunting obstacles.
A leader who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced 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 economic system is in ruins and whose political stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly confident.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He pledged to recruit American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing capital for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude 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 remember the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you break it, you own it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has altered Venezuela's destiny – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has proven that he is more than willing to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, alleged narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to previous operations, which have largely involved missiles and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are markedly different.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That twist on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan might prove tough for some of Trump's backers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who split from the president after accusing him of deserting his political base, was quick to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's never ending military aggression and support of 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. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to reclaim confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" 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 hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, territory and assets that are central to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will raise broader questions in global politics, however, and impact American relations with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese government released a statement voicing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless assault on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to broker a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"The United States should not be administering other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have learned 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 censured Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders prior to launching the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and uphold 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" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a success – with zero American casualties and minimal harm to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, successful and powerful demonstrations of American military might and competency in American history."
Now he is betting his legacy on that success enduring, as the US says it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unclear. 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 international strategy has in store for them.
