Following executing a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the nation-building arena.
In a notable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief declared that US military forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a delegation including 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 safe, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" involves is unclear, but the commitment marks an abrupt policy reversal for the president, full of contradictions and significant challenges.
A leader who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now betting his administration on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is in ruins and whose governmental stability has been undermined by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He promised to enlist American oil firms to repair Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, providing funds for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out 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."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has reshaped Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is more than willing to use armed force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to past operations, which have mostly involved missiles and aircraft that reduce the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are strikingly different.
His goal, 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 - slogan might prove tough for some of Trump's followers to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who broke with the president after charging him of abandoning his political base, was quick to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless military aggression and backing for overseas conflicts is justified because we are forced to finance it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Trump Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, land and resources that are core to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will provoke larger questions in global politics, however, and affect American relations with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement expressing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless attack on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia following 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 moderate Republican congressman, voiced concern about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"America should not be administering 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 overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's choice not to consult with legislative leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and protect institutional 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 concerned they would "disclose" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American deaths and minimal harm to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most astonishing, effective and powerful demonstrations of American power and proficiency in American history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that success enduring, as the US says it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his administration must rebuild a nation that has been in chaos for years while calming a region that is bound to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
