Following executing a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be entering the state-building business.
In a striking media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president stated that US military forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a delegation comprising 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, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "governing the state" involves is ambiguous, but the commitment represents an sudden policy reversal for the president, full of contradictions and significant obstacles.
A leader who ran on opposing "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now staking his presidency on effectively rebuilding a South American nation whose economy is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been undermined by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He vowed to recruit American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing financing for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of 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 informed reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent of the US intervention 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 break it, you own it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has redefined Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump entered 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 military force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to previous operations, which have largely involved missiles and aircraft that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are strikingly different.
His goal, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Domestic and International Reaction
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra might prove difficult for some of Trump's backers to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who broke with the president after charging him of deserting his political base, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's never ending use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable because we are forced to fund it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention 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 regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that declared 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 questioned again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, land and resources that are central to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will provoke broader questions in international relations, however, and impact American relations with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement voicing surprise and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia following its invasion 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 centrist Republican congressman, expressed worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify 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 reason," 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 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 inform legislative leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and protect democratic 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 "disclose" details of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
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 "daring raid" and "among the most astonishing, successful and powerful displays of American military might and competency in US history."
Now he is gambling his legacy on that victory continuing, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unclear. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for decades while calming a hemisphere that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
