In the wake of executing a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the nation-building arena.
In a notable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president declared that US military forces had effectively seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a group featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the embattled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" entails is uncertain, but the pledge marks an dramatic shift in direction for the president, full of contradictions and daunting obstacles.
A president who ran on opposing "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US attempts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now betting his administration on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently confident.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He pledged to enlist American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing capital for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out deploying American soldiers to Venezuela to further 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."
An Altered International Stance
The US has redefined Venezuela's destiny – whether for good or ill.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has proven that he is quite prepared to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike past actions, which have mostly involved missiles and aircraft that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His objective, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Domestic and International Reaction
That play on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - mantra might prove difficult for some of Trump's supporters to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who split from the president after charging him of deserting his political base, was swift to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending use of force and backing for foreign wars is understandable 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 official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation 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 characterizing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it ensured US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect commerce, land and resources that are core to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke broader concerns in global politics, however, and impact American relations with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese government released a statement expressing surprise and denouncing what it said was a reckless assault on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia following its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"America should not be managing other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have understood by now not to get involved in perpetual conflicts and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's choice not to inform congressional leaders before launching the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to abide by the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a success – with no American deaths and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his typical confidence, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most stunning, successful and powerful demonstrations of American power and competency in US history."
Now he is gambling his legacy on that success continuing, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unclear. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
