In the wake of executing a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the nation-building arena.
In a striking news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president stated that US forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a team 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 manage the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" actually means is uncertain, but the pledge marks an dramatic policy reversal for the president, laden with inconsistencies and significant challenges.
A president who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America First" international policy is now betting his administration on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been eroded by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He stated his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He vowed to recruit American oil firms to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, supplying capital for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out sending American soldiers to Venezuela to progress 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 invasion 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 shatter it, you are responsible for it."
An Altered International Stance
The US has reshaped Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has proven that he is ready to use armed force around the globe.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck atomic sites in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous actions, which have largely involved rockets and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are markedly distinct.
His objective, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra may be hard for some of Trump's backers to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who split from the president after accusing him of abandoning his political base, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless military aggression and backing for foreign wars is justified because we are compelled to pay for it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to reclaim confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and warranted".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived 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 "Trump Doctrine."
The action 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 "protect trade, land and assets that are core to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will raise broader questions in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing surprise and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced worry about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were more direct.
"America should not be running other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have understood by now not to get involved 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 rights violations. But he censured Trump's choice not to inform legislative leaders prior to launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty to abide by the law and uphold institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he chose 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 success – with zero American deaths and minimal damage to US equipment. Trump, with his typical confidence, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most astonishing, effective and impressive displays of American power and competency in American history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that victory continuing, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his administration must rebuild a nation that has been in chaos for decades while calming a region that is sure to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
