In the wake of executing a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building business.
In a remarkable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president stated that US forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a delegation including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the embattled nation.
"We are going to administer the country until such time as we can do a safe, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" entails is ambiguous, but the vow marks an abrupt policy reversal for the president, laden with inconsistencies and daunting obstacles.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at overthrowing governments 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 collapsed and whose political stability has been eroded by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently optimistic.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He vowed to enlist American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying funds for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of sending 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 informed reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent 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 shatter it, you are responsible for it."
An Altered International Stance
The US has reshaped Venezuela's future – whether for good or ill.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has proven that he is ready to use armed force around the globe.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck atomic sites in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous operations, which have largely involved missiles and warplanes that minimize the risk of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are strikingly different.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra might prove hard for some of Trump's supporters to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who broke with the president after accusing him of abandoning his political base, was swift to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless use of force and backing for foreign wars is understandable because we are compelled to pay for it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump detractor, 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 reclaim seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported 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 appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without 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 challenged again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect commerce, territory and assets that are central to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will raise larger questions in international relations, however, and affect American ties with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese government released a statement expressing shock and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"The United States should not be managing other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have learned by now not to get entangled in perpetual conflicts and overthrow attempts that carry devastating 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 inform legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty 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 remarks, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a triumph – with no American casualties and limited harm to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and impressive displays of American military might and competency in American history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that success enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unknown. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for decades while calming a hemisphere that is sure to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
