In the wake of executing a evening of overwhelming force in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a notable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief announced that US military forces had effectively captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then said that a group including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the troubled nation.
"We are going to manage the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What precisely "managing the nation" involves is uncertain, but the pledge marks an sudden policy reversal for the president, full of inconsistencies and daunting challenges.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now staking his administration on effectively revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was unwaveringly upbeat.
He said his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this will be no different. He promised to enlist American energy companies to repair Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, supplying financing for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of deploying 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 told reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US invasion 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 break it, you own it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has altered Venezuela's destiny – whether for good or ill.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago pledging to be a diplomat, but over the past year he has shown that he is more than willing to use military force worldwide.
In the past week, he ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, alleged drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike previous actions, which have mostly involved missiles and warplanes that minimize the risk of American forces to harm, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are markedly different.
His aim, he said during his press conference, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Response at Home and Abroad
That twist on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - mantra 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 abandoning his core supporters, was swift to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's never ending use of force and support of overseas conflicts is justified because we are compelled to fund it," she wrote. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another prominent 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 seized US oil and stop fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "firm and justified".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his appearance, the president argued the Venezuelan operation furthered his "America First" priorities because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He revived the Monroe Doctrine – an early 19th Century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and rebranded it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US supremacy in the Western Hemisphere will not be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "protect trade, land and assets that are fundamental to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will provoke larger questions in international relations, however, and impact American relations with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement voicing surprise and condemning what it said was a reckless attack on a independent country.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar censures of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has frequently seemed to be leaning to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, expressed concern about the signal Trump's actions might send.
"My main worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Opposition and Legal Scrutiny
Trump's Democratic critics were blunter.
"The United States should not be managing other countries for any reason," said a senator who serves on the Foreign Relations Committee. "We should have understood by now not to get involved in perpetual conflicts and regime change missions that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a criminal and a autocrat with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's choice not to inform congressional leaders before initiating the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and uphold institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "leak" particulars of the operation before the attack.
An Uncertain Future
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American casualties and limited damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, successful and powerful demonstrations of American power and competency in American history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that success continuing, as the US says it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means remains unknown. He and his administration must fortify a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a region that is sure to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
