In the wake of launching a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building business.
In a striking news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president declared that US military forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a group featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to administer the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" actually means is ambiguous, but the vow marks an dramatic shift in direction for the president, rife with inconsistencies and significant challenges.
A president 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 gambling his administration on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose political stability has been eroded by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He stated his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He vowed to enlist American oil firms to repair Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, providing financing for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting 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 informed reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US invasion 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 shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has altered Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump came to power 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 around the globe.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike past actions, which have largely involved missiles and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are strikingly different.
His goal, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Response at Home and Abroad
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra could be hard for some of Trump's backers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who broke with the president after accusing him of abandoning his political base, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending military aggression and support of foreign wars is justified because we are forced to pay for it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation 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 justified".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a reliable 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 goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect trade, land and assets that are fundamental to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will raise broader concerns in global politics, however, and impact American ties with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless attack on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric military actions 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 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 perpetual conflicts and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's choice not to inform legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and protect 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 "leak" details of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a success – with zero American casualties and minimal harm to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most astonishing, successful and powerful displays of American military might and proficiency in US history."
Now he is betting his legacy on that success enduring, as the US claims it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unknown. He and his team must rebuild a nation that has been in chaos for years while stabilising a region that is sure to be cautious of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
