Following executing a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building business.
In a notable 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 said that a team comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the embattled nation.
"We are going to manage the country until such time as we can do a safe, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "managing the nation" involves is uncertain, but the vow signifies an dramatic shift in direction for the president, full of contradictions and significant obstacles.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now gambling his presidency on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He promised to recruit American oil firms to repair Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing financing for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude 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 remember the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has reshaped Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is quite prepared to use armed force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous 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 markedly different.
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 - slogan may be tough for some of Trump's followers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who split from the president after charging him of abandoning his political base, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless use of force and support of 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, compared the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to reclaim confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Trump Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, territory and resources that are core to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke larger concerns in global politics, however, and affect American relations with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement voicing surprise and condemning what it said was a irresponsible assault 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 attempting to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed worry about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were more direct.
"America should not be running 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 perpetual conflicts and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's choice not to inform legislative leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and uphold institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" particulars of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a success – with zero American deaths and limited harm to US assets. Trump, with his typical confidence, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most astonishing, successful and impressive displays of American military might and competency in American history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that victory continuing, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unknown. He and his administration must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for years while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
