Following executing a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a striking news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president declared 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 featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the embattled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" actually means is unclear, but the commitment signifies an abrupt change of course for the president, full of contradictions and significant challenges.
A president who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now betting his administration on effectively rebuilding a South American nation whose economy is collapsed and whose political stability has been eroded by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He stated his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He vowed to recruit American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, providing financing for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude deploying American soldiers to Venezuela to further 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 invasion of Iraq, will now have to heed the words of one of the American planners of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you break it, you own it."
An Altered International Stance
The US has altered Venezuela's future – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is ready to use armed force around the globe.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike previous operations, which have mostly involved rockets and warplanes 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 briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Domestic and International Reaction
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra might prove hard for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who broke with the president after charging him of deserting his core supporters, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's perpetual use of force and backing for foreign wars is justified because we are forced to finance it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another notable Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation 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 armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" 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 revived 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 "Trump Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, land and assets that are central to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke broader questions in global politics, however, and affect American ties with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing shock and condemning what it said was a reckless attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to broker a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared 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 concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"The United States should not be managing other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have understood by now not to get involved in endless wars and regime change missions that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" particulars of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a success – with no American deaths and limited harm to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most stunning, effective and powerful demonstrations of American power and competency in American history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that victory enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unclear. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is sure to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
