Following executing a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the nation-building business.
In a striking 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 overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a team including 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 judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" entails is unclear, but the pledge signifies an dramatic policy reversal for the president, full of inconsistencies and formidable obstacles.
A leader who ran on opposing "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America first" international policy is now staking his administration on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is in ruins and whose political stability has been undermined by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He promised to recruit American oil firms to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, providing capital for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of 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 sharp critic 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: "If you shatter it, you are responsible for it."
An Altered International Stance
The US has reshaped Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has proven that he is ready to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike past operations, which have mostly involved rockets and aircraft that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan could be hard for some of Trump's supporters to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who broke with the president after charging him of deserting his political base, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending military aggression and backing for foreign wars is understandable because we are compelled to fund 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 official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and warranted".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th 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 "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 commerce, land and assets that are core to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will raise larger questions in global politics, however, and impact American ties with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing shock and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed concern about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"America should not be running other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have understood by now not to get entangled in endless wars and regime change missions that carry devastating results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's decision not to consult with congressional leaders before launching the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to abide by the law and protect 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.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a success – with zero American casualties and minimal harm to US assets. Trump, with his typical bravado, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most stunning, effective and powerful demonstrations of American military might and competency in US history."
Now he is staking his legacy on that victory continuing, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unknown. He and his administration must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for decades while stabilising a region that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
