In the wake of executing a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a striking press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president stated that US military forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then said that a group 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 run the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" entails is ambiguous, but the vow signifies an abrupt shift in direction for the president, laden with contradictions and significant obstacles.
A leader who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America first" international policy is now gambling his presidency on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose political stability has been eroded by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly confident.
He stated his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He pledged to recruit American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, supplying funds for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out sending 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 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 shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has reshaped Venezuela's destiny – 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 demonstrated that he is more than willing to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to previous actions, which have mostly involved rockets and warplanes that minimize the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Domestic and International Reaction
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra could be hard for some of Trump's supporters to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who broke with the president after accusing him of deserting his core supporters, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's perpetual use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable 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 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.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-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 "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect commerce, territory and resources that are core to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will raise larger concerns in international relations, however, and affect American ties with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless attack on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed 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 justify an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"America should not be administering other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have learned by now not to get entangled in endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" details of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a success – with no American deaths and minimal damage to US equipment. Trump, with his typical bravado, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most stunning, successful and impressive displays of American power and competency in American history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that success enduring, as the US says it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unclear. He and his administration must strengthen a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a region that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
