Following launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the nation-building business.
In a striking media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president 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 featuring 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 administer the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" actually means is uncertain, but the vow signifies an abrupt change of course for the president, full of inconsistencies and significant challenges.
A leader who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised 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 economy is in ruins and whose political stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He stated his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He promised to enlist American energy companies to repair Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying capital for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out 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 informed reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US intervention of Iraq, will now have to consider the words of one of the American planners 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 destiny – whether for good or ill.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is ready to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike past actions, which have largely involved missiles and aircraft that minimize the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are notably different.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Domestic and International Reaction
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove difficult for some of Trump's followers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who broke with the president after charging him of abandoning his political base, 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 understandable because we are forced to pay for 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 official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and justified".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it ensured US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that asserted 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 questioned again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, territory and assets that are fundamental to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will raise broader concerns in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese government released a statement voicing surprise and denouncing what it said was a reckless assault on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"America should not be administering other countries for any reason," 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 devastating results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders before launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty to abide by the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a triumph – with no American deaths and limited damage to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and impressive displays of American power and proficiency in US history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that success continuing, as the US claims it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unclear. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for years while calming a region that is sure to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
