Venezuela May Now Shape Trump's Political Legacy - as well as the United States' Role in the Global Order
Following launching a night of shock and awe in Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the nation-building business.
In a remarkable press conference at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday morning, the president announced that US forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife in an late-night operation in Caracas.
Trump then indicated that a delegation including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would be seizing the reins of the troubled nation.
"We are going to run the country until such time as we can do a secure, orderly and judicious transition," he said.
What exactly "managing the nation" actually means is unclear, but the commitment signifies an abrupt shift in direction for the president, laden with inconsistencies and significant obstacles.
A president who campaigned against "forever wars", who vehemently denounced past US attempts at regime change and who promised to implement an "America first" international policy is now staking his presidency on effectively rebuilding a South American nation whose economic system is collapsed and whose governmental stability has been undermined by years of authoritarian rule.
Yet, Trump was persistently confident.
He stated his administration has a "unblemished record of winning" – and that this would be no different. He pledged to enlist American energy companies to repair Venezuela's crumbling industrial infrastructure, supplying financing for the American reconstruction efforts and benefitting the Venezuelan people.
He declined to rule out 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 sharp critic of the US intervention of Iraq, will now have to consider 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 Shift in Foreign Policy
The US has reshaped Venezuela's prospects – whether for good or ill.
Trump came to power nearly a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over the past year he has demonstrated that he is quite prepared to use military force internationally.
In the past week, he ordered airstrikes on Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, he struck atomic sites in Iran, alleged narco-trafficking boats in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, militias in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq.
In contrast to previous actions, which have largely involved missiles and aircraft that reduce the risk of American forces to danger, Trump's Venezuela operation – and his pledges to the fate of that nation – are strikingly different.
His aim, he said during his briefing, is to "make Venezuela great again."
Reactions from Allies and Critics
That play on Trump's "MAGA" – or Maga - slogan may be difficult for some of Trump's backers to swallow.
Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former Trump loyalist who split from the president after charging him of abandoning his core supporters, was swift to denounce the president's actions on social media.
"Americans' disgust with our own government's endless use of force and backing for foreign wars is justified because we are compelled to fund it," she stated. "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 arms and drug trafficking charges – with Trump's reasoning that the operation was to reclaim confiscated US oil and stop fentanyl production.
Most Republican lawmakers rallied behind the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing the military action against a "criminal regime" as "decisive and legitimate".
Strategic Justifications and Global Implications
During his press conference, the president said the Venezuelan operation advanced his "America First" agenda because it guaranteed US regional security and provided a reliable source of oil.
He dusted off the Monroe Doctrine – an nineteenth-century American diplomatic policy that asserted the Western Hemisphere should be free from influence by European powers – and renamed it the "Donroe Doctrine."
The move in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that "US preeminence in the Western Hemisphere will never be challenged again."
The purpose of the new US national security strategy, he said, was to "safeguard trade, land and resources that are fundamental to our national security." He branded the Western Hemisphere as America's "home region."
Trump's choice to capture Maduro will raise larger questions in international relations, however, and impact American relations with the world's other significant global powers.
The Chinese foreign ministry issued a statement expressing surprise and denouncing what it said was a reckless attack on a independent country.
During the Biden administration, the US offered comparable condemnations of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine. Now the Trump administration is attempting to broker 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, expressed concern about the precedent Trump's actions might send.
"My main concern 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 opponents were more direct.
"The United States should not be running 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 involved in endless wars 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 condemned Trump's decision not to consult with legislative leaders prior to launching the attack.
"Donald Trump has the constitutional responsibility to abide by the law and protect institutional norms in the United States," he said. "That is what putting America First demands."
Trump, in his remarks, said that he opted not to inform Congress because he was concerned they would "disclose" details of the operation before the attack.
A Path Forward Shrouded in Doubt
That military operation was a triumph – with zero American deaths and minimal damage to US assets. Trump, with his characteristic bravado, described the operation as a "daring raid" and "among the most astonishing, effective and impressive displays of American power and proficiency 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 administration must rebuild a nation that has been in turmoil for decades while stabilising a hemisphere that is sure to be cautious of what Trump's foreign policy has in store for them.