Following launching a night of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the state-building arena.
In a remarkable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief announced that US forces had successfully seized Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a group comprising Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be assuming control of the beleaguered 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 unclear, but the vow marks an dramatic change of course for the president, full of contradictions and daunting obstacles.
A president who ran on opposing "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at regime change and who vowed to implement an "America First" international policy is now gambling his administration on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economy is collapsed and whose political stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly confident.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no exception. He pledged to enlist American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, providing funds for the American rebuilding project and benefitting 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 told 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: "You break it, you bought it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has reshaped Venezuela's prospects – 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 demonstrated that he is quite prepared to use armed force worldwide.
In the past week, he authorized airstrikes 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 minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are markedly distinct.
His objective, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That twist on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan might prove difficult for some of Trump's followers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump ally who broke with the president after charging him of abandoning his core supporters, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's perpetual use of force and support of 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. Boy were we wrong."
Another notable Trump detractor, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, compared the legal justification for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the armed intervention against a "criminal regime" as "firm and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it ensured US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "safeguard commerce, territory and assets that are fundamental to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to apprehend Maduro will provoke larger concerns in international relations, however, and affect American relations with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement voicing shock and condemning what it said was a reckless attack on a independent country.
During the previous administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting 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, voiced concern about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were more direct.
"The United States should not be running other countries for any purpose," said a senator who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations committee. "We should have learned by now not to get entangled in endless wars and overthrow attempts that carry devastating results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he condemned Trump's decision not to inform legislative leaders prior to 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 remarks, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "disclose" particulars of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a triumph – with no American deaths and minimal harm to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, described the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most astonishing, successful and impressive displays of American military might and proficiency in American 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 truly entails remains unknown. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in chaos for years while calming a hemisphere that is bound to be apprehensive of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
