In the wake of executing a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the state-building business.
In a remarkable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president declared that US military forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a delegation 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 safe, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "governing the state" actually means is unclear, but the vow marks an sudden shift in direction for the president, full of contradictions and significant obstacles.
A leader who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now staking his administration on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly confident.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He vowed to recruit American energy companies to repair Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, supplying funds for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of sending American soldiers to Venezuela to advance these efforts. "We do not fear 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 planners of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has altered Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has proven that he is quite prepared to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck atomic sites in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike past actions, which have largely involved missiles and warplanes that reduce the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are strikingly different.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan could be difficult for some of Trump's supporters to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who split from the president after charging him of deserting his core supporters, was quick to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's never ending military aggression and support of foreign wars is understandable because we are compelled to pay for it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action 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" agenda because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Trump 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 trade, land and assets that are central to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will provoke broader questions in global politics, however, and impact American relations with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement expressing shock and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible assault on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed concern 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 justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"America should not be running other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have understood by now not to get entangled in endless wars and regime change missions that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's decision not to inform legislative leaders prior to launching the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to abide by 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 opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a success – with no American casualties and limited damage to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most astonishing, successful and impressive demonstrations of American military might and competency in American history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that success enduring, as the US says it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unknown. He and his administration must rebuild a nation that has been in turmoil for years while stabilising a hemisphere that is sure to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
