Following launching a evening 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 estate on Saturday morning, the president declared that US military forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a group featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the embattled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "governing the state" entails is ambiguous, but the pledge signifies an sudden policy reversal for the president, full of contradictions and daunting challenges.
A leader who ran on opposing "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US efforts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now betting his administration on effectively reconstructing a South American nation whose economy is in ruins and whose political stability has been undermined by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly confident.
He stated his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He pledged to enlist American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, providing capital for the American reconstruction efforts and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude 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 vocal opponent of the US invasion 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 Changed Global Approach
The US has redefined Venezuela's destiny – whether for good or ill.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has proven that he is ready to use armed force internationally.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck atomic sites in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
Unlike past 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 future of that nation – are markedly different.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
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 accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who broke with the president after accusing him of abandoning his core supporters, was quick to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending military aggression and backing for overseas conflicts 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 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 retake confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and warranted".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action 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 "protect commerce, land and assets that are central to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will raise larger questions in international relations, however, and affect American relations with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese government released a statement expressing surprise and condemning what it said was a reckless assault on a independent country.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed concern about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"The United States should not be managing other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have learned 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 lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's decision not to consult with legislative leaders before initiating the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned 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 casualties and limited harm to US equipment. Trump, with his typical bravado, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and proficiency in American history."
Now he is gambling his legacy on that success enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unclear. He and his administration must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for years while calming a region that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
