Following executing a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building business.
In a notable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief declared that US forces had effectively seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a team including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the embattled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "governing the state" entails is unclear, but the vow marks an dramatic change of course for the president, full of contradictions and significant challenges.
A leader who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now gambling his presidency on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is in ruins and whose governmental stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He vowed to enlist American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing funds for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude 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 informed reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to heed the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "You break it, you bought it."
An Altered International Stance
The US has reshaped Venezuela's future – 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 armed force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck atomic sites in Iran, suspected 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 aircraft that reduce the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - mantra could be difficult for some of Trump's followers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who split from the president after accusing him of deserting his core supporters, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless military aggression and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable because we are compelled to pay for it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and justified".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived 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 supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, territory and assets that are core to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will raise broader questions in international relations, however, and impact American relations with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese government released a statement voicing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless assault on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced concern about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"America should not be managing other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have learned by now not to get entangled in perpetual conflicts and regime change missions that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's decision not to consult with 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 concerned they would "disclose" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American deaths and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his typical bravado, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most astonishing, effective and powerful demonstrations of American military might and proficiency in US history."
Now he is staking his legacy on that success enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unknown. He and his team must rebuild a nation that has been in turmoil for years while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
