Following launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a remarkable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president stated that US military forces had successfully seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a group including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the embattled nation.
"We are going to administer the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" actually means is uncertain, but the vow represents an abrupt shift in direction for the president, rife with inconsistencies and significant obstacles.
A president who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", 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 rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose political stability has been undermined by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He pledged to enlist American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, supplying funds for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of sending American soldiers to Venezuela to progress 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 invasion 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 pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has proven that he is more than willing to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to past actions, which have largely involved missiles and warplanes 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 objective, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Domestic and International Reaction
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan could be difficult for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who split from the president after charging him of deserting his political base, was quick to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless use of force and backing for foreign wars is understandable because we are compelled to finance 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 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 halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing 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 guaranteed US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Trump Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The goal of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, land and resources that are fundamental to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will provoke larger questions in global politics, however, and affect American relations with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement expressing shock and condemning what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker 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, voiced concern about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My main 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 critics were blunter.
"The United States should not be managing 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 endless wars and regime change missions that carry catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's choice not to inform congressional leaders before initiating the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to abide by the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, said that he chose 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 military operation was a success – with zero American casualties and minimal harm to US assets. Trump, with his typical bravado, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most stunning, effective and powerful demonstrations of American power and proficiency in US history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that victory enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means is unclear. He and his administration must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for decades while calming a hemisphere that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
