In the wake of 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 resort on Saturday morning, the president announced that US military forces had effectively apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a delegation including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, collaborating with Venezuelans, would be taking control of the embattled 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 "governing the state" actually means is uncertain, but the pledge represents an dramatic shift in direction for the president, full of inconsistencies and daunting challenges.
A leader who campaigned against "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at overthrowing governments and who promised to implement an "America first" foreign policy is now gambling his presidency on effectively reconstructing a South American nation whose economic system is in shambles and whose political stability has been eroded by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently optimistic.
He stated his administration has a "perfect track record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He pledged to recruit American energy companies to overhaul Venezuela's crumbling production infrastructure, supplying financing for the American rebuilding project and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude 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 informed reporters.
Trump, a sharp critic of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to remember the words of one of the American architects of the Iraq War, Secretary of State Colin Powell: "If you shatter it, you are responsible for it."
A Changed Global Approach
The US has redefined Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump took office nearly a year ago pledging 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 struck atomic sites in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, insurgent groups in Yemen, militias in Somalia and jihadist fighters in Iraq.
In contrast to past operations, which have mostly involved rockets and warplanes that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his commitments to the future of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His goal, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan might prove hard for some of Trump's supporters to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a one-time Trump loyalist who broke with the president after accusing him of abandoning his core supporters, was quick to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless military aggression and support of overseas conflicts is understandable 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 critic, Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, contrasted the official rationale for Maduro's arrest – on arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
The majority of Republican lawmakers supported the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson characterizing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "firm and legitimate".
Policy Rationales and Worldwide Consequences
During his press conference, 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 nineteenth-century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be without influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Trump Doctrine."
The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will not be questioned again."
The goal of the new US security policy, he said, was to "protect commerce, land and resources that are core to our security interests." He labeled the Western Hemisphere as America's "sphere of influence."
Trump's decision to capture Maduro will raise larger questions in global politics, however, and impact American ties with the world's other major military powers.
The Chinese government issued a statement expressing surprise and condemning what it said was a irresponsible attack on a sovereign nation.
During the Biden administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a ceasefire between those two nations – one that has often seemed to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced worry about the message Trump's actions might send.
"My primary worry is now Russia will use this to excuse their unlawful and brutal operations against Ukraine, or China to justify an attack of Taiwan."
Political Criticism and Constitutional Questions
Trump's Democratic critics were sharper.
"America should not be running 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 regime change missions 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 censured Trump's decision not to inform legislative leaders prior to launching the attack.
"The President has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what placing America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, said that he chose not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" details of the operation prior to the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That mission was a success – with no American casualties and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic confidence, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most stunning, successful and powerful displays of American power and competency in US history."
Now he is betting his presidency on that victory continuing, as the US says it will assume responsibility for running and rebuilding Venezuela - though what that actually means is unknown. He and his team must strengthen a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while calming a hemisphere that is bound to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has planned for them.
