In the wake of launching a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the state-building business.
In a remarkable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president stated that US forces had effectively seized 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, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the troubled nation.
"We are going to administer 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 commitment represents an abrupt policy reversal for the president, rife with inconsistencies and formidable challenges.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who sharply criticised past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now staking his presidency on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose political stability has been undermined by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He said his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He vowed to recruit American oil firms to repair Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, supplying financing for the American rebuilding project and aiding the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude sending American soldiers to Venezuela to progress 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 intervention of Iraq, will now have to remember 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."
An Altered International Stance
The US has reshaped Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is quite prepared to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he authorized air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted atomic sites in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to previous actions, which have mostly involved missiles and warplanes that reduce the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are markedly different.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove difficult for some of Trump's supporters to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump ally who split from the president after accusing him of deserting his political base, was swift to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless military aggression and backing for overseas conflicts is justified 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 notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to reclaim seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and warranted".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic 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 never be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect trade, land and assets that are core to our security interests." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will raise broader concerns in international relations, however, and affect American relations with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement expressing surprise and denouncing what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, expressed concern about the signal 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 justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"America should not be managing other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have learned by now not to get involved in endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry devastating results 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 choice not to inform legislative leaders before initiating the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty to abide by the law and uphold institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "disclose" details of the operation prior to the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American deaths and limited harm to US assets. Trump, with his typical confidence, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, successful and impressive demonstrations of American military might and proficiency in American history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that success continuing, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unknown. He and his administration must strengthen 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 planned for them.
