Following launching a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be entering the nation-building business.
In a remarkable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief announced that US forces had successfully seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then said that a delegation comprising 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 secure, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "governing the state" actually means is ambiguous, but the commitment marks an abrupt change of course for the president, rife with contradictions and significant challenges.
A president who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US efforts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now gambling his presidency on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose political stability has been eroded by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He pledged to enlist American oil firms to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, providing financing 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 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: "If you shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has reshaped Venezuela's destiny – whether for good or ill.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has proven that he is quite prepared to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to past actions, which have mostly involved missiles and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That variation of Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan may be tough for some of Trump's backers to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who split from the president after charging him of abandoning his political base, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's perpetual use of force and support of foreign wars is justified because we are compelled to fund it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and warranted".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, land and assets that are fundamental to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will provoke broader questions in global politics, however, and impact 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 similar condemnations of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were more direct.
"The United States should not be running other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have learned by now not to get entangled in perpetual conflicts and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic 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 choice not to inform legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to follow the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" details of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a triumph – with zero American casualties and limited harm to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most stunning, successful and impressive demonstrations of American power and proficiency in US history."
Now he is staking his legacy on that success enduring, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unknown. He and his team must rebuild a nation that has been in turmoil for years while calming a region that is sure to be cautious of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
