Following executing a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a remarkable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president declared that US forces had successfully seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a group featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the embattled nation.
"We are going to manage the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "managing the nation" actually means is unclear, but the vow marks an dramatic policy reversal for the president, full of contradictions and daunting challenges.
A leader who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at overthrowing governments and who vowed to implement an "America first" international policy is now betting his administration on effectively reconstructing a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose political stability has been undermined by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. 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 declined to rule out 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 informed reporters.
Trump, a vocal opponent 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 Changed Global Approach
The US has reshaped Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is ready to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to past operations, which have mostly involved rockets and aircraft that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra could be difficult for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who split from the president after accusing him of deserting his core supporters, was swift to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable 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 prominent Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and justified".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, territory and resources that are core to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will provoke broader concerns in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement expressing shock and condemning what it said was a reckless assault on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced worry about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and barbaric operations against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents 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 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 human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's decision not to consult with congressional leaders before launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty to abide by the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First requires."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" particulars of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That mission was a success – with no American casualties and minimal damage to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most astonishing, effective and impressive displays of American power and proficiency in US history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that victory continuing, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means is unknown. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for years while calming a hemisphere that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
