Following executing a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a notable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president announced that US forces had effectively seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a group including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the embattled 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" actually means is unclear, but the vow marks an abrupt change of course for the president, full of contradictions and daunting obstacles.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America first" international policy is now betting his presidency on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been undermined by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He promised to enlist American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing funds for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of sending 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 intervention 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 reshaped Venezuela's future – whether for good or ill.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is quite prepared to use armed force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck atomic sites in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to previous actions, which have largely involved rockets and aircraft that minimize the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are notably distinct.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That twist on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan may be hard for some of Trump's backers to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who broke with the president after accusing him of abandoning his political base, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is justified because we are compelled to finance 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, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and legitimate".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it ensured US regional security and provided a reliable 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 renamed it the "Trump Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard 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 provoke broader questions in international relations, however, and affect American relations with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing surprise and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible attack on a independent country.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed worry about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"The United States should not be running other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have learned by now not to get entangled in perpetual conflicts and regime change missions that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's choice not to inform legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" details of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a triumph – with no American deaths and limited damage to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most astonishing, successful and powerful displays of American power and competency in American history."
Now he is betting his legacy on that victory continuing, as the US says it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his team must rebuild a nation that has been in chaos for years while stabilising a region that is sure to be apprehensive of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
