Following executing a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the state-building business.
In a remarkable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president announced that US military forces had successfully apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a team comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working 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, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "governing the state" entails is unclear, but the commitment signifies an dramatic shift in direction for the president, laden with inconsistencies and significant obstacles.
A leader who ran on opposing "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now betting his presidency on effectively reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is collapsed and whose political stability has been undermined by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly optimistic.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He pledged to recruit American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying capital for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of sending 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 sharp critic of the US intervention of Iraq, will now have to remember 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 Changed Global Approach
The US has reshaped Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has proven that he is quite prepared to use armed force around the globe.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike past operations, which have mostly involved rockets and warplanes that reduce the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are strikingly different.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove tough for some of Trump's backers to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist 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 perpetual military aggression and backing for foreign wars is justified because we are forced to pay for it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "firm and justified".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
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 asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and rebranded 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 "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 choice to apprehend Maduro will provoke broader concerns in global politics, however, and impact American relations with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing shock and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible assault on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced worry about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and brutal 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 learned by now not to get involved in endless wars and regime change missions that carry devastating 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 choice not to consult with legislative leaders prior to launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" details of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a success – with no American casualties and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his typical confidence, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most stunning, effective and powerful demonstrations of American military might and proficiency in US history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that victory continuing, as the US says it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unclear. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while calming a hemisphere that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
