Following launching a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the nation-building business.
In a striking press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief declared that US military forces had successfully seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then said that a delegation featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the troubled nation.
"We are going to manage the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" involves is uncertain, but the commitment signifies an sudden shift in direction for the president, rife with inconsistencies and significant challenges.
A leader who campaigned against "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US attempts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now gambling his administration on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose political stability has been undermined by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly upbeat.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He pledged to recruit American energy companies to overhaul 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 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 invasion of Iraq, will now have to consider 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 Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has reshaped Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump took office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is quite prepared to use armed force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes 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.
In contrast to past actions, which have mostly involved missiles 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 notably different.
His objective, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Domestic and International Reaction
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra could be tough for some of Trump's followers 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 criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's perpetual use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is justified 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 drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and justified".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, land and assets that are core to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will raise broader concerns in global politics, however, and affect American ties with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese government released a statement voicing shock and condemning what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced concern about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"The United States 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 endless wars and regime change missions that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's choice not to inform congressional leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty to follow the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a triumph – with no American deaths and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his typical confidence, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most stunning, effective and powerful demonstrations of American military might and competency in US history."
Now he is staking his legacy on that victory enduring, as the US says it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unknown. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for years while stabilising a region that is bound to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
