Following launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a remarkable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president stated that US military forces had effectively apprehended 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, 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 careful transition," he said.
What exactly "managing the nation" actually means is uncertain, but the pledge marks an abrupt shift in direction for the president, full of inconsistencies and daunting challenges.
A leader who campaigned against "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America first" international policy is now gambling his presidency on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been eroded by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly confident.
He claimed his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He promised to enlist American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying capital for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of deploying American soldiers to Venezuela to advance these efforts. "We do not fear boots on the ground…we had boots on the ground last night," he told reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to remember the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "You break it, you bought it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has redefined Venezuela's future – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has proven that he is ready to use armed force around the globe.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike past operations, which have largely involved rockets and aircraft that minimize the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His objective, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Response at Home and Abroad
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra may be hard for some of Trump's followers to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who split from the president after accusing him of abandoning his political base, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless military aggression and backing for overseas conflicts is justified because we are compelled to fund it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another notable Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "firm and justified".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Trump Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, territory and resources that are central to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice 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 foreign ministry released a statement expressing shock and condemning what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
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 frequently seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed concern about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"America should not be running other countries for any purpose," 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 devastating results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's decision not to consult with 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, said 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 success – with zero American casualties and limited harm to US assets. Trump, with his typical confidence, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most astonishing, effective and powerful displays of American military might and proficiency in American history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that victory enduring, as the US claims it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unclear. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for decades while calming a hemisphere that is sure to be apprehensive of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
