In the wake of executing a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the nation-building arena.
In a remarkable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief announced that US military forces had successfully apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a delegation featuring Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working 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 safe, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" entails is ambiguous, but the commitment signifies an dramatic policy reversal for the president, full of contradictions and formidable obstacles.
A president who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who sharply criticised past US attempts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now gambling his presidency on effectively rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose political stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly confident.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He promised to enlist American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, providing capital for the American rebuilding project and aiding 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 informed reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to consider the words of one of the American planners 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 reshaped Venezuela's future – whether for good or ill.
Trump came to power 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 around the globe.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to past operations, which have largely involved rockets and aircraft that minimize the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are strikingly different.
His goal, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That variation of Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove hard for some of Trump's backers to accept.
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 condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's perpetual military aggression and backing for foreign wars is understandable because we are forced to fund it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He dusted off 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 "Trump Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect commerce, territory and resources that are central to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke larger concerns in international relations, however, and impact American ties with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese government released a statement voicing surprise and condemning what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed concern about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary 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."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were blunter.
"America should not be running other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have understood by now not to get involved in perpetual conflicts and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's decision not to consult with congressional leaders before 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 placing America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a triumph – with no American casualties and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his typical confidence, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most stunning, successful and powerful displays of American military might and proficiency in US history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that victory enduring, as the US says it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unknown. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is sure to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
