Following executing a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a striking press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president announced that US military forces had effectively seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid 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 seizing the reins 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 "running the country" actually means is uncertain, but the vow marks an dramatic policy reversal for the president, laden with inconsistencies and daunting challenges.
A president who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now gambling his administration on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is collapsed and whose political 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 will be no exception. He promised to recruit American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, supplying financing for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude sending 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 told reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent 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."
An Altered International Stance
The US has altered Venezuela's destiny – whether for good or ill.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has shown that he is more than willing to use military force around the globe.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to previous actions, which have largely involved missiles and warplanes that minimize the risk of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are notably distinct.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra may be hard for some of Trump's backers to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who broke with the president after accusing him of abandoning 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 support of overseas conflicts is understandable because we are compelled to fund it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and warranted".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a steady 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 rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect commerce, land and resources that are core to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will raise broader questions in international relations, however, and affect American relations with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry 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 after its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to broker a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric 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 administering other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have understood 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 criminal and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's choice not to inform legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to follow the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" details of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a success – with zero American deaths and limited harm to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most stunning, successful 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 claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unclear. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
