Following launching a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a notable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief declared 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 featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to administer the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" involves is unclear, but the commitment marks an abrupt policy reversal for the president, full of inconsistencies and daunting challenges.
A leader 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 staking his administration on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is in ruins and whose governmental stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly optimistic.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He pledged to recruit American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing capital for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out sending American soldiers to Venezuela to advance these efforts. "We're not afraid of 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 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."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has redefined Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is ready to use military force internationally.
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, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous actions, which have largely involved missiles and warplanes that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are strikingly different.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Response at Home and Abroad
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan may be difficult for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally 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 military aggression and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable because we are forced to fund it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning 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 describing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and legitimate".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign 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 preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, territory and resources that are core to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will raise larger questions in international relations, however, and impact American relations with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese government 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 condemnations of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed worry about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"America should not be running 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 regime change missions that carry catastrophic 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 consult with legislative leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to follow the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, 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 military operation was a success – with zero American deaths and minimal harm to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, successful and powerful demonstrations of American military might and proficiency in US history."
Now he is staking his legacy on that victory enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means is unclear. He and his administration must strengthen 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.
