In the wake of launching a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be entering the nation-building business.
In a remarkable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief announced that US forces had effectively seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a delegation including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating 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 secure, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" actually means is ambiguous, but the vow represents an dramatic policy reversal for the president, laden with contradictions and formidable challenges.
A leader who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now betting his presidency on effectively reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is collapsed and whose political stability has been eroded by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was persistently confident.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He vowed to recruit American oil firms to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, providing funds for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of deploying American soldiers to Venezuela to further 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 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: "You break it, you bought it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has altered Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is quite prepared to use armed force around the globe.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike previous operations, which have largely involved missiles and warplanes that reduce the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are notably different.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Domestic and International Reaction
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra could be tough for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who broke with the president after accusing him of deserting his core supporters, was swift to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless military aggression and support of foreign wars is justified because we are compelled to pay for it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the armed intervention 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" agenda because it ensured US regional 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 free from 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 not be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect commerce, territory and assets that are core to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will provoke broader concerns in international relations, however, and impact American relations with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement expressing shock and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible attack on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced concern about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"The United States should not be administering 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 entangled in perpetual conflicts and overthrow attempts that carry devastating results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's decision not to inform legislative leaders prior to launching the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to follow the law and uphold institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" particulars of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American deaths and minimal harm to US assets. Trump, with his typical bravado, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most astonishing, successful and impressive displays of American power and proficiency in American history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that success continuing, as the US claims it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his team must rebuild a nation that has been in chaos for years while calming a region that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
