Following executing a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a remarkable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president announced that US forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a group featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating 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 secure, proper and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" involves is unclear, but the pledge marks an abrupt policy reversal for the president, rife with inconsistencies and formidable challenges.
A leader who ran on opposing "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now betting his administration on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been eroded by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly upbeat.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He pledged to enlist American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, providing funds for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude deploying 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 informed reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent 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 shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has redefined Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is more than willing to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to previous operations, which have mostly involved rockets and warplanes that minimize the risk of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are markedly different.
His objective, 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 tough for some of Trump's backers to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who broke with the president after charging him of deserting his core supporters, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending use of force and support of foreign wars is justified because we are forced to fund it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic 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 never be questioned again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect trade, territory and assets that are core to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke larger questions in international relations, however, and affect American ties with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing surprise and denouncing what it said was a reckless attack on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar censures 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 seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics were more direct.
"The United States should not be managing other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have understood by now not to get entangled in perpetual conflicts and regime change missions that carry devastating 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 decision not to consult with legislative leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to abide by 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 opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a triumph – with no American deaths and limited harm to US equipment. Trump, with his typical bravado, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most stunning, successful and impressive demonstrations of American power and proficiency in US history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that success continuing, as the US claims it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means is unknown. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
