Following executing a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a notable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president declared that US forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a delegation featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the embattled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "managing the nation" actually means is uncertain, but the commitment marks an dramatic shift in direction for the president, rife with contradictions and significant challenges.
A leader who ran on opposing "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America first" international policy is now gambling his administration on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose political stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He stated his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He vowed to recruit American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, providing capital 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 told reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent of the US intervention 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."
An Altered International Stance
The US has redefined Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is ready to use military force around the globe.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, alleged 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 mostly involved missiles and warplanes that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are strikingly different.
His objective, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra might prove hard for some of Trump's supporters to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who split from the president after charging him of abandoning his political base, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending use of force and backing for 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. How mistaken we were."
Another prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "firm and legitimate".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it ensured US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, land and assets that are core to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will raise broader questions in global politics, however, and impact American ties with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement voicing surprise and condemning what it said was a irresponsible attack on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced worry about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"The United States should not be managing other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have understood by now not to get involved in endless wars and regime change missions that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's decision not to inform legislative leaders before initiating the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and uphold democratic 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" details of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American deaths and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most stunning, successful and impressive displays of American military might and competency in American history."
Now he is gambling his legacy on that success enduring, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in turmoil for years while calming a hemisphere that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
