Following launching a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the nation-building business.
In a striking news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief announced that US military forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a team including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" entails is unclear, but the vow represents an sudden policy reversal for the president, laden with inconsistencies and formidable obstacles.
A president who ran on opposing "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now gambling his presidency on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economic system is in ruins and whose governmental stability has been undermined by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly optimistic.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He vowed to recruit American oil firms to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, supplying financing for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out 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 informed reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US invasion 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 shatter it, you are responsible for it."
An Altered International Stance
The US has altered Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has proven that he is more than willing to use armed force worldwide.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to past operations, which have mostly involved missiles 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 different.
His objective, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Response at Home and Abroad
That twist on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan might prove difficult for some of Trump's backers 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 quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's perpetual military aggression and backing for overseas conflicts is justified because we are compelled to finance 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, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and justified".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities 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 free from influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, territory and resources that are fundamental to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will raise broader questions in international relations, however, and impact American relations with the world's other major global 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 invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often seemed 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 main concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were more direct.
"The United States 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 overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders prior to launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" details of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a success – with no American casualties and limited damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most stunning, effective and powerful demonstrations of American military might and proficiency in American history."
Now he is betting his legacy on that victory enduring, as the US claims it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unknown. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for years while calming a region that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
