In the wake of launching a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the nation-building business.
In a striking media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief 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 comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" entails is unclear, but the pledge signifies an dramatic policy reversal for the president, rife with inconsistencies and formidable obstacles.
A president who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America First" international policy is now staking his presidency on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been undermined by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He promised to enlist American energy companies to repair Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying funds for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out deploying American soldiers to Venezuela to progress 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 intervention 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 Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has reshaped Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is ready 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, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to past operations, which have mostly involved missiles and aircraft that minimize the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are notably different.
His objective, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That twist on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan could be hard for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who broke with the president after accusing him of deserting his core supporters, was quick to condemn 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 forced to fund it," she wrote. "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 drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "firm and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US hemispheric 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 renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, land and resources that are central to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will raise broader concerns in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless assault on a independent country.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying 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, expressed worry about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were blunter.
"America should not be running other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have learned 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 condemned Trump's choice not to inform legislative leaders prior to initiating the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to follow the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" details of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a success – with no American deaths and minimal harm to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most astonishing, successful and impressive demonstrations of American power and competency in US history."
Now he is staking his legacy on that success enduring, as the US says it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unclear. He and his administration must rebuild a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while calming a region that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
