In the wake of launching a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a notable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president 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 team including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the beleaguered nation.
"We are going to administer the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and careful transition," he said.
What precisely "managing the nation" entails is ambiguous, but the commitment marks an sudden policy reversal for the president, laden with contradictions and significant challenges.
A president who ran on opposing "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America First" international policy is now gambling his presidency on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economy is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been eroded by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was relentlessly upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no exception. He pledged to recruit American energy companies to repair Venezuela's deteriorating production infrastructure, providing funds for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude sending American soldiers to Venezuela to further these efforts. "We're not afraid of 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 heed the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you break it, you own it."
An Altered International Stance
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 armed force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to past actions, which have mostly involved rockets and aircraft that reduce the exposure of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are markedly different.
His objective, he said during his press conference, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That twist on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - mantra may be difficult for some of Trump's followers to accept.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who broke with the president after charging him of abandoning his political base, was swift to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending use of force and backing for foreign wars is justified because we are compelled to fund 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 official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on weapons and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's explanation that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers stood by the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and warranted".
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 dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and renamed 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 "safeguard trade, territory and resources that are fundamental to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "backyard."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will provoke larger questions in international relations, however, and affect American relations with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement voicing shock and condemning what it said was a reckless attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable censures of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to broker a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced worry about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to justify their illegal and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic opponents were blunter.
"America 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 involved in perpetual conflicts and overthrow attempts that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of rights violations. But he censured Trump's choice not to consult with legislative leaders before initiating 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 putting America First requires."
Trump, in his press conference, 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 success – with no American casualties and minimal harm to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "one of the most astonishing, effective and impressive demonstrations of American military might and competency in American history."
Now he is gambling his presidency on that success continuing, as the US says it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails is unclear. He and his team must rebuild a nation that has been in chaos for years while calming a region that is sure to be apprehensive of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.
