In the wake of launching a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a remarkable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief announced that US military forces had effectively seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a group featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "managing the nation" actually means is uncertain, but the vow represents an dramatic shift in direction for the president, laden with contradictions and daunting obstacles.
A leader who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America first" international policy is now gambling his administration on successfully reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose political stability has been eroded by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly confident.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He vowed to enlist American oil firms to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, supplying capital for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out deploying American soldiers to Venezuela to advance these efforts. "We're not afraid of 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 heed the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you break it, you own it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has altered Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is ready to use armed force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to past operations, which have largely involved missiles and warplanes that minimize the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are markedly distinct.
His objective, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan may be tough for some of Trump's supporters to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who broke with the president after charging him of deserting his political base, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless military aggression and support of foreign wars is justified because we are compelled to pay for 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 legal justification 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.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "firm and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities 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 declared the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Trump Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, land and resources that are core to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's decision 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 denouncing what it said was a reckless attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden 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 seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were blunter.
"America should not be managing other countries for any purpose," 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 results 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 consult with legislative leaders prior to launching the attack.
"Donald Trump 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 requires."
Trump, in his press conference, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" details of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American casualties and limited damage to US assets. Trump, with his typical confidence, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most astonishing, successful and powerful displays of American military might and competency in US history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that success enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unclear. He and his administration must strengthen a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while calming a hemisphere that is sure to be cautious of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
