Following launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the state-building business.
In a notable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the president announced that US forces had effectively apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a team comprising 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 secure, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "governing the state" involves is unclear, but the commitment marks an abrupt policy reversal for the president, laden with inconsistencies and formidable obstacles.
A leader who ran on opposing "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now betting his administration on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is in ruins and whose political stability has been undermined by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly optimistic.
He claimed his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He pledged to recruit American oil firms to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying financing for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of sending American soldiers to Venezuela to progress these efforts. "We do not fear boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he told reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent of the US intervention 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 Changed Global Approach
The US has altered Venezuela's future – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is more than willing to use military force worldwide.
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, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to past operations, which have mostly involved missiles and aircraft that reduce the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are markedly different.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove hard for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who broke with the president after charging him of abandoning his core supporters, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's never ending military aggression and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable because we are forced to fund 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 official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to reclaim confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and legitimate".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect commerce, land and assets that are central to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will provoke broader questions in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing surprise and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible assault on a independent country.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate 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 message Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to justify their unlawful and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics 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 endless wars and regime change missions that carry catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's choice not to inform congressional leaders before launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty to follow the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" details of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American casualties and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his typical bravado, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most stunning, effective and impressive demonstrations of American military might and proficiency in American history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that victory enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for years while calming a region that is sure to be apprehensive of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
