In the wake of launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a striking media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president stated that US military forces had successfully seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a team 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 run the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "governing the state" entails is ambiguous, but the vow represents an abrupt change of course for the president, rife with inconsistencies and daunting obstacles.
A president who ran on opposing "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America first" international policy is now gambling his administration on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He promised to enlist American energy companies to repair Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying capital for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out sending 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 sharp critic of the US intervention of Iraq, will now have to remember the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you break it, you own it."
An Altered International Stance
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 proven that he is ready to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to previous actions, which have mostly involved missiles and warplanes that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are notably different.
His objective, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That twist on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - mantra could be tough for some of Trump's supporters to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who split from the president after charging him of deserting his political base, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's perpetual use of force and support of foreign wars is understandable because we are compelled 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 official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and stop 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 warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president argued the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect trade, land and resources that are core to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will raise larger concerns in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese government released a statement expressing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless assault on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced concern about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize 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 endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry devastating consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's decision not to inform congressional leaders before initiating the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to abide by the law and protect democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American casualties and limited harm to US assets. Trump, with his typical bravado, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and impressive displays of American power and competency in US history."
Now he is staking his legacy on that success continuing, as the US says it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unknown. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is bound to be cautious of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
