In the wake of launching a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the state-building arena.
In a remarkable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief stated that US military forces had successfully seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a group featuring 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 manage the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" actually means is unclear, but the commitment signifies an dramatic policy reversal for the president, rife with inconsistencies and significant challenges.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now betting his administration on effectively rebuilding a South American nation whose economy is in ruins and whose governmental stability has been undermined by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly upbeat.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He promised to enlist American energy companies to repair Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, providing financing for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude 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 vocal opponent 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 break it, you own it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has altered Venezuela's future – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago promising 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 ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck atomic sites in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to previous actions, which have mostly involved missiles and aircraft that minimize the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are strikingly different.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Domestic and International Reaction
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra might prove hard for some of Trump's followers to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who broke with the president after accusing him of deserting his core supporters, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's perpetual military aggression and support of foreign wars is justified because we are compelled to fund 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.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, 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 international relations, 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 previous administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying 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, voiced concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry 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 more direct.
"The United States should not be administering other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have understood by now not to get involved in perpetual conflicts and regime change missions that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's decision not to consult with legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and uphold institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" details of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a triumph – with zero American deaths and limited damage to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and impressive displays of American power and proficiency in US history."
Now he is gambling his legacy on that success continuing, as the US claims it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means is unknown. He and his team 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 international strategy has in store for them.
