In the wake of executing a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the state-building business.
In a striking news conference 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 late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a delegation comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the troubled nation.
"We are going to administer the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "managing the nation" entails is unclear, but the commitment represents an sudden policy reversal for the president, laden with contradictions and daunting challenges.
A leader who campaigned against "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US attempts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America first" international policy is now betting his presidency on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been eroded by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He stated his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He promised to recruit American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, supplying funds for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude 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 informed 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: "If you shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has altered Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago promising to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is ready to use armed force worldwide.
In the past week, he authorized 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 previous operations, which have mostly involved missiles and aircraft that reduce the risk of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Domestic and International Reaction
That play on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - mantra may be hard for some of Trump's supporters to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who split from the president after charging him of abandoning his political base, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's perpetual use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable because we are forced to finance it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another prominent Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake 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 "firm and warranted".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that declared 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 preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, territory and resources that are fundamental to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke broader questions in global politics, however, and affect American relations with the world's other major 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 previous administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia following its invasion 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 worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics were more direct.
"America should not be administering other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have learned by now not to get entangled in endless wars and regime change missions that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's choice not to consult with congressional leaders prior to launching 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 requires."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he chose 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 military operation was a success – with no American deaths and limited harm to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American power and competency in US history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that success enduring, as the US says it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means is unknown. He and his team must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a region that is sure to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
