Following launching a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a striking press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president announced that US forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid 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 taking control of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "governing the state" entails is ambiguous, but the commitment represents an abrupt policy reversal for the president, full of contradictions and significant challenges.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now staking his administration on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose political stability has been undermined by decades 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 different. He pledged to enlist American oil firms to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, providing financing for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of 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 vocal opponent of the US intervention of Iraq, will now have to consider 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 altered Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump took office nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has shown that he is more than willing to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike past operations, which have largely involved rockets and aircraft that minimize the risk of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are markedly distinct.
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 digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time 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 endless military aggression and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable because we are compelled to fund it," she stated. "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 legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and justified".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect commerce, land and assets that are fundamental to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will raise larger questions in global politics, however, and impact American relations with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement voicing surprise and condemning what it said was a reckless assault on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack 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 learned 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 lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders before launching the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and uphold democratic 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 "leak" details of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American deaths and limited damage to US equipment. Trump, with his typical bravado, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most stunning, effective and powerful demonstrations of American power and competency 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 truly entails remains unclear. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
