In the wake of executing a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building business.
In a notable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief stated that US forces had effectively seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said 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 secure, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "governing the state" involves is ambiguous, but the commitment marks an abrupt policy reversal for the president, full of contradictions and formidable challenges.
A president who ran on opposing "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now gambling his administration on effectively reconstructing a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been eroded by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly optimistic.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He pledged to recruit American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, providing funds for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of sending American soldiers to Venezuela to further 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 remember 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 reshaped Venezuela's future – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is more than willing to use armed force worldwide.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to previous operations, which have largely involved rockets and aircraft that reduce the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are strikingly different.
His goal, 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 followers to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who split from the president after charging him of abandoning his political base, was quick to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless use of force and support of overseas conflicts 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 notable Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons 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 military action against a "criminal regime" as "firm and warranted".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect trade, land and assets that are central to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will provoke larger concerns in international relations, however, and affect American relations with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing surprise and condemning what it said was a irresponsible assault on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced worry about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"The United States should not be administering 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 entangled in perpetual conflicts and overthrow attempts that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders before initiating the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a success – with no American casualties and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and impressive demonstrations of American military might and proficiency in American history."
Now he is betting his legacy on that victory continuing, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unknown. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for years while calming a region that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
