In the wake of executing a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building business.
In a notable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief stated that US forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a team including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "governing the state" involves is uncertain, but the pledge marks an dramatic policy reversal for the president, laden with inconsistencies and significant challenges.
A president who ran on opposing "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now staking his administration on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose political stability has been undermined by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He pledged to recruit American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying financing for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out deploying 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 invasion of Iraq, will now have to consider the words of one of the American planners of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "You break it, you bought it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has altered Venezuela's future – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has proven that he is more than willing to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike past operations, which have mostly involved rockets and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are notably distinct.
His goal, he said during his press conference, 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 hard for some of Trump's followers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who split from the president after charging him of deserting his core supporters, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's perpetual use of force and support of foreign wars is understandable because we are compelled to fund it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another notable Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and warranted".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it ensured US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, territory and assets that are fundamental to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke larger questions in global politics, however, and affect American relations with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement voicing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless assault on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"America should not be running other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have understood by now not to get involved in endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's decision not to consult with congressional leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and uphold institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" details of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American deaths and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most astonishing, successful and powerful demonstrations of American power and proficiency in American history."
Now he is gambling his legacy on that success continuing, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unknown. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for years while calming a region that is bound to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
