Following launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be entering the state-building arena.
In a striking media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president announced that US military forces had effectively seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a team featuring 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 safe, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" entails is uncertain, but the commitment marks an abrupt policy reversal for the president, laden with inconsistencies and daunting obstacles.
A leader who ran on opposing "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 presidency on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose political stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently confident.
He claimed his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He vowed to recruit American oil firms to repair Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing financing for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of deploying American soldiers to Venezuela to advance these efforts. "We do not fear boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he told reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US intervention of Iraq, will now have to heed the words of one of the American planners of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you break it, you own it."
An Altered International Stance
The US has redefined 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 shown that he is ready to use military force around the globe.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike past operations, which have mostly involved rockets and aircraft that minimize the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are notably distinct.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan may be tough for some of Trump's followers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who split from the president after charging him of abandoning his core supporters, was swift to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless military aggression and backing for overseas conflicts is justified 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 prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Trump 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, territory and resources that are core to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will provoke larger concerns in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement voicing surprise and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible 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 trying to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed worry about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were more direct.
"The United States should not be managing other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have learned by now not to get involved in perpetual conflicts and overthrow attempts that carry devastating results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's choice not to consult with congressional leaders before initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty to follow the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" details of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a success – with zero American deaths and limited damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most astonishing, successful and powerful displays of American power and competency in US history."
Now he is gambling his legacy on that victory enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unclear. He and his administration must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is sure to be cautious of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
