In the wake of launching a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a remarkable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president declared that US military forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a group featuring 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, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" involves is ambiguous, but the pledge marks an dramatic policy reversal for the president, full of inconsistencies and significant obstacles.
A leader who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now betting his presidency on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose political stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He promised to enlist American oil firms to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, supplying financing for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of 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 intervention of Iraq, will now have to heed 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 Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has redefined 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 demonstrated that he is quite prepared to use armed force worldwide.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, alleged narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous actions, which have mostly involved rockets and warplanes that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are notably distinct.
His goal, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Response at Home and Abroad
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra might prove hard for some of Trump's supporters to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who broke with the president after accusing him of deserting his core supporters, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's perpetual use of force and backing for foreign wars is justified because we are compelled to pay for it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another notable Trump critic, 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 reclaim seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "firm and justified".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect commerce, territory and resources that are core to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will provoke larger questions in global politics, however, and impact American ties with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing shock and condemning what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the previous 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 frequently appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to justify 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 running 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 entangled in endless wars and regime change missions that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's choice not to inform legislative leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" particulars of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a triumph – with zero American casualties and limited harm to US assets. Trump, with his typical confidence, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, effective and impressive demonstrations of American military might and competency in US history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that victory enduring, as the US says it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unclear. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
