In the wake of launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the nation-building arena.
In a striking news conference 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 said that a delegation including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating 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, proper and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "running the country" entails is uncertain, but the pledge signifies an dramatic change of course for the president, full of inconsistencies and formidable challenges.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US attempts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now gambling his presidency on effectively rebuilding a South American nation whose economy is in ruins and whose political stability has been undermined by years of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly optimistic.
He claimed his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He pledged to enlist American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying capital for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out sending American soldiers to Venezuela to advance these efforts. "We're not afraid of 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 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 Changed Global Approach
The US has reshaped Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising 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 ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to past actions, which have mostly involved missiles and aircraft that minimize the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are notably different.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan could be hard for some of Trump's supporters to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who broke with the president after accusing him of deserting his political base, was quick to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending military aggression and backing for foreign wars is justified because we are compelled to pay for it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. Boy were we wrong."
Another notable Trump critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and justified".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" agenda because it ensured US regional security and provided a steady source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that asserted 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 supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect commerce, territory and resources that are core to our national security." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's decision to apprehend Maduro will provoke broader concerns in international relations, however, and affect American relations with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement voicing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless assault on a independent country.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to broker 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 worry about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or China to rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics were more direct.
"The United States should not be running other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have understood by now not to get entangled in endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry devastating results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a lawbreaker and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's choice not to consult with congressional leaders before initiating the attack.
"The President has the legal duty to abide by the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" particulars of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a success – with no American casualties and minimal damage to US equipment. Trump, with his typical confidence, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and impressive displays of American military might and competency in US history."
Now he is gambling his legacy on that victory continuing, as the US claims it will take over administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that actually means is unknown. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for decades while stabilising a region that is sure to be cautious of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
