Following launching a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a remarkable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president stated that US forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a group including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the troubled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" entails is ambiguous, but the commitment represents an dramatic policy reversal for the president, full of contradictions and significant challenges.
A president who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now staking his presidency on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is collapsed and whose political stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly optimistic.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He vowed to enlist American oil firms to repair Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing capital for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude 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 invasion of Iraq, will now have to consider the words of one of the American planners of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "You break it, you bought it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has reshaped Venezuela's destiny – 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 ready to use armed force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck atomic sites in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous operations, which have mostly involved rockets and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are notably different.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That variation of Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan may be hard for some of Trump's supporters to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who broke with the president after accusing him of abandoning his political base, was swift to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's never ending use of force and support of overseas conflicts is understandable because we are compelled to pay for it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
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 reclaim confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing 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 ensured US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Trump Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect commerce, land and resources that are central to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will raise larger questions in global politics, however, and affect American ties with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese government released a statement voicing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless assault on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern 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 sharper.
"America should not be managing other countries for any purpose," 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 catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's decision not to consult with legislative leaders before initiating the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to follow the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a success – with no American deaths and limited harm to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most astonishing, effective and impressive displays of American power and proficiency in American history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that victory enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means is unclear. He and his team must rebuild a nation that has been in turmoil for years while stabilising a region that is sure to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
