In the wake of launching a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the nation-building arena.
In a striking media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president announced that US forces had effectively seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a group including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to administer the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" involves is ambiguous, but the pledge represents an dramatic change of course for the president, full of inconsistencies and daunting obstacles.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now betting his presidency on effectively reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is in ruins and whose governmental stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He stated his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He pledged to enlist American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, supplying financing for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of sending American soldiers to Venezuela to further 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 shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has reshaped Venezuela's destiny – whether for good or ill.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is more than willing to use military force around the globe.
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, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to previous operations, which have mostly involved missiles and aircraft that reduce the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are strikingly different.
His objective, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra might prove tough for some of Trump's followers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who split from the president after accusing him of abandoning his political base, was quick to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's never ending military aggression and support of overseas conflicts is justified because we are forced to finance it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another notable Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it ensured US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, land and resources that are fundamental to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke broader concerns in global politics, however, and affect American relations with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing shock and condemning what it said was a reckless assault 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 broker a ceasefire 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 main 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."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
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 devastating results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders before launching the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to follow the law and uphold institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" particulars of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a success – with zero American casualties and minimal damage to US equipment. Trump, with his typical confidence, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most astonishing, successful and impressive demonstrations of American power and competency in US history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that success continuing, as the US says it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unknown. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for years while stabilising a hemisphere that is sure to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
