Following launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a remarkable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president stated that US forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a team including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the embattled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "managing the nation" actually means is uncertain, but the pledge represents an sudden policy reversal for the president, laden with contradictions and formidable challenges.
A leader who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US attempts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now betting his administration on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is in ruins and whose governmental stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly upbeat.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He promised to enlist American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying 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 do not fear boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he informed 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: "You break it, you bought it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has reshaped Venezuela's future – 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 ready to use military force worldwide.
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, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to previous operations, which have mostly involved rockets and aircraft that reduce the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra may be difficult for some of Trump's backers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who split from the president after charging him of abandoning his core supporters, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending use of force and support of foreign wars is justified because we are compelled to pay for it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another notable Trump detractor, 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 halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "firm and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it ensured US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Trump Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will not 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 branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will provoke larger questions in global politics, however, and impact American relations with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing shock and condemning what it said was a reckless assault on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed concern about the message 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 rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were more direct.
"America 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 perpetual conflicts and regime change missions that carry catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's decision not to consult with congressional leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and uphold 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 "disclose" details of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a success – with no American casualties and limited harm to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competency in American history."
Now he is betting 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 administration must rebuild a nation that has been in turmoil for years while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
