Following launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the state-building business.
In a notable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief stated that US military forces had successfully seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a team including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "governing the state" involves is unclear, but the commitment signifies an sudden shift in direction for the president, laden with contradictions and daunting obstacles.
A leader who campaigned against "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now staking his administration on effectively rebuilding a South American nation whose economy is in ruins and whose political stability has been eroded by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was persistently optimistic.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He vowed to enlist American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, providing capital for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out deploying American soldiers to Venezuela to further 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 invasion of Iraq, will now have to heed 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 reshaped Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has proven that he is more than willing to use armed force worldwide.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to past operations, which have largely involved missiles and aircraft that minimize the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are strikingly different.
His objective, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan could be hard for some of Trump's backers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who broke with the president after accusing him of deserting his political base, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's perpetual military aggression and backing for foreign wars is justified because we are forced to finance it," she wrote. "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 arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and legitimate".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered 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 foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Trump Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, territory and resources that are core to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will raise larger questions in global politics, however, and impact American relations with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese government released a statement expressing surprise and condemning what it said was a reckless assault on a independent country.
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 peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced concern about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were more direct.
"America should not be running other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have understood by now not to get involved in perpetual conflicts and regime change missions that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders prior to launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and protect institutional 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 concerned they would "leak" details of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a success – with zero American casualties and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his typical bravado, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and powerful displays of American power and competency in US history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that success enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unknown. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while calming a region that is sure to be cautious of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
