Following executing a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the nation-building business.
In a notable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president declared that US military forces had effectively seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a team 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 manage the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" entails is uncertain, but the pledge signifies an dramatic change of course for the president, full of inconsistencies and daunting challenges.
A leader who campaigned against "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America first" international policy is now gambling his administration on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been eroded by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He stated his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He vowed to recruit American oil firms to repair Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, supplying funds for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of deploying American soldiers to Venezuela to progress these efforts. "We're not afraid of boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he informed reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic 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 Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has reshaped Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has shown that he is quite prepared to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike past actions, which have mostly involved rockets and aircraft that minimize the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are strikingly different.
His objective, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra might prove difficult for some of Trump's backers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who broke with the president after charging him of abandoning his political base, was swift to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless military aggression and backing for foreign wars 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 notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US hemispheric 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 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 never be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect trade, territory and resources that are core to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will provoke broader questions in global politics, however, and affect American ties with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese government released a statement expressing shock and condemning what it said was a reckless attack on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"America should not be managing 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 overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders before initiating the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he chose 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 success – with no American deaths and limited harm to US assets. Trump, with his typical bravado, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most stunning, successful and impressive demonstrations of American power and competency in US history."
Now he is betting his presidency 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 administration must rebuild a nation that has been in chaos for years while calming a hemisphere that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
