In the wake of executing a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be getting into the nation-building arena.
In a notable media briefing at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president announced that US military forces had effectively apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an overnight raid in Caracas.
Trump then indicated 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 run the country until such time as we can do a safe, orderly and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "running the country" actually means is unclear, but the commitment signifies an sudden policy reversal for the president, full of contradictions and significant obstacles.
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 betting his presidency on successfully rebuilding a South American nation whose economy is in shambles and whose governmental stability has been undermined by decades of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently confident.
He claimed his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He promised to recruit American energy companies to repair Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, providing financing for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He left open the possibility of sending American soldiers to Venezuela to advance 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 architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "You break it, you bought it."
A Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has altered Venezuela's prospects – for better or worse.
Trump entered office 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 internationally.
In the past week, he authorized 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, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike previous actions, which have mostly involved rockets and warplanes that minimize the exposure of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the future of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Response at Home and Abroad
That variation of 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 one-time Trump ally who split from the president after charging him of deserting his core supporters, was swift to condemn the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's never ending use of force and support of overseas conflicts is justified because we are forced to fund it," she stated. "This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were."
Another prominent 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 seized US oil and halt fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "firm and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" priorities because it guaranteed US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He resurrected 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 questioned again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, territory and assets that are core to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will raise larger concerns in global politics, however, and affect American relations with the world's other major global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry released a statement voicing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless attack on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar 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 seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a moderate Republican congressman, voiced worry about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My primary concern is now Russia will use this to excuse their illegal and brutal military actions against Ukraine, or China to justify an invasion of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic opponents were sharper.
"America should not be administering 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 perpetual conflicts and regime change missions that carry catastrophic results for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a record of human rights abuses. But he censured Trump's decision not to inform legislative leaders prior to launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to follow the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" details of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American deaths and limited damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, portrayed the operation as a "daring raid" and "one of the most stunning, successful and powerful displays of American power and competency in American history."
Now he is staking his presidency on that success continuing, as the US claims it will take over running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unclear. He and his team must rebuild a nation that has been in chaos for decades while calming a region that is bound to be wary of what Trump's foreign policy has planned for them.
