Following launching a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a striking media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president announced that US forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a delegation comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be taking control 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 exactly "running the country" entails is unclear, but the commitment signifies an dramatic change of course for the president, full of inconsistencies and significant challenges.
A leader who campaigned against "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now gambling his administration on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been undermined by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly optimistic.
He claimed his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He vowed to enlist American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, supplying funds for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out deploying American soldiers to Venezuela to further these efforts. "We do not fear boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he informed reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US invasion 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 break it, you own it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has redefined Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is quite prepared to use military force around the globe.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to previous actions, which have mostly involved rockets and warplanes that minimize the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are strikingly different.
His objective, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That play 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 former Trump ally who split from the president after charging him of deserting his core supporters, was swift to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's perpetual use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is justified because we are forced to finance it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "firm and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it ensured US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that asserted 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 not be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, territory and resources that are core to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's decision to capture 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 expressing surprise and condemning what it said was a irresponsible attack on a independent country.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed worry about the signal 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 rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"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 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 rights violations. But he condemned Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders before initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American casualties and limited damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, successful and powerful demonstrations of American military might and proficiency in American history."
Now he is betting his legacy on that victory enduring, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains 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 wary of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
