Following executing a evening of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump seems to be entering the state-building arena.
In a notable news conference at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Saturday morning, the commander-in-chief declared that US forces had effectively apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then announced that a group featuring 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 administer the country until such time as we can do a secure, proper and careful transition," he said.
What exactly "governing the state" entails is ambiguous, but the commitment signifies an abrupt shift in direction for the president, laden with contradictions and formidable challenges.
A president who campaigned against "endless conflicts", who vehemently denounced past US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America First" foreign policy is now gambling his administration on successfully revitalizing a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been eroded by decades of dictatorship.
Yet, Trump was persistently upbeat.
He claimed his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He vowed to enlist American oil firms to rebuild Venezuela's deteriorating industrial infrastructure, supplying capital for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He did not exclude sending American soldiers to Venezuela to advance 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 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: "You break it, you bought it."
The US has redefined Venezuela's destiny – for better or worse.
Trump entered office nearly a year ago promising 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 ordered air strikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
Unlike past actions, which have mostly involved missiles and aircraft that minimize the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela strike – and his commitments to the fate of that nation – are strikingly distinct.
His objective, he said during his briefing, is to "restore Venezuela's greatness."
That play on Trump's "Make America Great Again" – or Maga - slogan may be difficult for some of Trump's supporters to digest.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who broke with the president after accusing him of abandoning his political base, was swift to criticize the president's actions on social media.
"Public outrage with our own government's endless use of force and backing for overseas conflicts is understandable because we are compelled to finance 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 weapons and cocaine trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to retake confiscated US oil and halt fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "illegitimate government" as "decisive and warranted".
During his appearance, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it ensured US hemispheric security and provided a steady source of oil.
He resurrected the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American foreign policy that declared the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Trump 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 national security strategy, 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 decision to capture Maduro will raise broader questions in international relations, however, and affect American relations with the world's other significant military powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement expressing shock and denouncing what it said was a reckless assault on a independent country.
During the previous administration, the US offered similar condemnations of Russia after its incursion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is trying to mediate a peace deal between those two nations – one that has often appeared to be more favourable to the Russian side.
Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman, voiced worry about the signal 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 rationalize an invasion of Taiwan."
Trump's Democratic opponents were more direct.
"America should not be administering other countries for any reason," 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 regime change missions that carry catastrophic consequences for Americans."
Another senior Democratic lawmaker stated Maduro is a lawbreaker and a autocrat with a record of rights violations. But he condemned Trump's choice not to consult with legislative leaders before launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the legal duty to follow the law and uphold democratic norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his press conference, explained that he opted not to inform Congress because he was worried they would "leak" particulars of the operation prior to the attack.
That military operation was a success – with zero American deaths and minimal damage to US equipment. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, portrayed the operation as a "spectacular assault" and "among the most astonishing, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competency in American history."
Now he is betting his legacy on that success enduring, as the US claims it will assume responsibility for administering and reconstructing Venezuela - though what that truly entails remains unclear. He and his administration must strengthen a nation that has been in chaos for decades while stabilising a region that is bound to be wary of what Trump's international strategy has in store for them.
Maya Chen is a seasoned tech journalist and software developer with over a decade of experience in digital innovation and cybersecurity.
