Following launching a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building business.
In a remarkable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief stated that US forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a group including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the embattled nation.
"We are going to run 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 vow signifies an sudden shift in direction for the president, rife with inconsistencies and formidable obstacles.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now gambling his presidency on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economic system is in ruins and whose governmental stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly confident.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He pledged to enlist American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, supplying financing for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out 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 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 entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has proven that he is more than willing to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, alleged narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to past actions, which have largely involved rockets and aircraft that reduce the risk of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are strikingly different.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Response at Home and Abroad
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra could be hard for some of Trump's backers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who split from the president after charging him of deserting his core supporters, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's perpetual military aggression and backing for foreign wars is understandable because we are compelled to finance it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and justified".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that asserted 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 preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, land and assets that are central to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will raise larger concerns in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless attack on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate 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 justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were more direct.
"The United States 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 entangled in perpetual conflicts and regime change missions 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 condemned Trump's decision not to consult with legislative leaders prior to launching the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to follow the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "disclose" particulars of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American deaths and limited harm to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most stunning, effective and impressive demonstrations of American power and proficiency in US history."
Now he is staking his legacy on that victory continuing, as the US claims it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unclear. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for decades while stabilising a region that is sure to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
