Following launching a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be entering the state-building arena.
In a striking press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president declared that US forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a group 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 secure, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" entails is ambiguous, but the pledge represents an sudden change of course for the president, laden with inconsistencies and formidable obstacles.
A leader who ran on opposing "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now gambling his administration on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose political stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly optimistic.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He promised to enlist American oil firms to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying funds for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of 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 informed reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to heed the words of one of the American planners of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "You break it, you bought it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has redefined Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has proven that he is quite prepared to use military force around the globe.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike previous operations, which have largely involved missiles and aircraft that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are markedly distinct.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Response at Home and Abroad
That variation of Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan may be difficult for some of Trump's followers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who broke with the president after charging him of abandoning his core supporters, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's never ending use of force and support of overseas conflicts is understandable because we are forced to pay for 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, compared the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to reclaim confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the armed intervention against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and legitimate".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it ensured US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect trade, territory and assets that are core to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will raise larger questions in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese government released a statement expressing shock and condemning what it said was a reckless assault on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to broker a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced concern about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were more direct.
"The United States should not be running other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have learned by now not to get entangled in perpetual conflicts and regime change missions that carry catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's choice not to inform congressional leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned 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 damage to US equipment. Trump, with his typical bravado, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most astonishing, successful and powerful displays of American power and proficiency in American history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that victory enduring, as the US claims it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means is unclear. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for decades while stabilising a region that is bound to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
