Following launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be entering the nation-building business.
In a remarkable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief declared that US military forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a team including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the embattled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" actually means is ambiguous, but the vow represents an abrupt change of course for the president, rife with inconsistencies and formidable challenges.
A leader who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America first" international policy is now gambling his presidency on effectively rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose political stability has been eroded by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly confident.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He vowed to recruit American oil firms to repair Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, supplying financing for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of sending American soldiers to Venezuela to progress these efforts. "We're not afraid of boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he told reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US intervention of Iraq, will now have to heed 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 redefined Venezuela's destiny – whether for good or ill.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is quite prepared to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to past actions, which have mostly involved missiles and warplanes that minimize the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are notably distinct.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove difficult for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who split from the president after accusing him of deserting his core supporters, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless use of force and support of foreign wars is justified 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 prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and legitimate".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic 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 "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect commerce, land and assets that are core to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will raise larger concerns in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement expressing surprise and denouncing what it said was a reckless assault on a independent country.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"America should not be running other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have learned by now not to get entangled in endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's decision not to inform legislative leaders before initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty to follow the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First requires."
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.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a success – with no American casualties and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most stunning, successful and impressive displays of American power and proficiency in US history."
Now he is staking his legacy on that success continuing, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means is unknown. He and his administration must rebuild a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while calming a hemisphere that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
