Venezuela represents Trump’s turnaround — and now it could determine his legacy

President Donald Trump and CIA Director John Ratcliffe followed the US attack on Venezuela from Washington. US Government After launching a “shock and awe” attack on Venezuela, Donald Trump now appears to be getting into the business of national reconstruction. In an extraordinary press conference held Saturday morning at his Mar-a-Lago resort, the president announced that American forces had successfully captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife during an overnight raid in Caracas. Trump then stated that a team including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, working with Venezuelans, would take control of the country in crisis. “We will manage the country until it is possible to make a safe, adequate and judicious transition,” he said. What exactly “running the country” means remains unclear, but the pledge represents an abrupt change of course for the president, fraught with contradictions and daunting obstacles. SEE ALSO: China calls on US to release Maduro immediately A president who campaigned against “forever wars”, who sharply criticized previous US efforts at regime change and who promised to implement an “America First” foreign policy is now betting his presidency on the success of rebuilding a South American nation whose economy is in tatters and whose political stability has been undermined by decades of authoritarian rule. Still, Trump was relentlessly optimistic. He stated that his government has a “perfect record of victories” — and that this time would be no different. He promised to recruit American energy companies to rebuild Venezuela’s collapsing industrial infrastructure, generating resources for U.S. reconstruction efforts and benefiting the Venezuelan people. Trump has not ruled out sending American troops to Venezuela to advance these efforts. “We are not afraid to send ground troops… we already sent them yesterday,” he said. Trump, a vigorous critic of the US invasion of Iraq, will now have to heed the words of one of the architects of the Iraq War, former Secretary of State Colin Powell (who died last year): “If you break it, you pay.” The United States has reshaped Venezuela’s future — for better or worse. Trump took office almost a year ago promising to be a peacemaker, but over that time has shown himself to be more than willing to use military force around the world. Last week, he ordered airstrikes in Syria and Nigeria. In 2025, it targeted nuclear facilities in Iran, suspected drug trafficking vessels in the Caribbean, rebel forces in Yemen, armed groups in Somalia and Islamic militants in Iraq. Unlike these previous actions — which largely involved missiles and aircraft, reducing the exposure of American forces to risks — Trump’s attack on Venezuela, as well as his commitments to the country’s future, are clearly distinct. His goal, he said during the press conference, is to “make Venezuela great again.” GETTY IMAGES via BBC This adaptation of Trump’s slogan “Make America Great Again” — or Maga — may be hard for some of his supporters to swallow. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a former staunch Trump ally who broke with the president after accusing him of abandoning his political base, was quick to condemn the action on social media. “Americans’ repudiation of our own government’s endless military aggression and support for foreign wars is justified because we are forced to pay for it, and both parties, Republicans and Democrats, always keep Washington’s military machine funded and running,” he wrote. “This is what many in Maga thought they voted to end. How mistaken we were.” Another prominent Trump critic, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, contrasted the legal justification for Maduro’s arrest — on gun and cocaine trafficking charges — with Trump’s explanation that the operation was aimed at recovering confiscated American oil and stopping fentanyl production. Most Republican lawmakers sided with the president, with House Speaker Mike Johnson describing military action against a “criminal regime” as “decisive and justified.” During the press conference, the president said the Venezuela operation advanced his “America First” priorities because it ensured U.S. regional security and provided a stable source of oil. He revived the Monroe Doctrine — an early 19th century American foreign policy that argued that the Western Hemisphere should be free from the influence of European powers — and renamed it the “Donroe Doctrine.” The action in Venezuela, Trump said, shows that “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never again be questioned.” The goal of the new U.S. national security strategy, he said, is “to protect the commerce, territory and resources that are central to our national security.” He classified the Western Hemisphere as the “home region” of the United States. Trump’s decision to capture Maduro, however, raises broader concerns in global politics and U.S. relations with the world’s other major military powers. READ MORE: Missile launchers, land and submarine landing ships: the US military arsenal in Venezuela INFOGRAPHIC: how the US surrounded Venezuela in an operation that threatens Maduro China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement expressing shock and condemning what it called a reckless attack against a sovereign nation. During the Biden administration, the US made similar condemnations of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Now, the Trump administration is trying to broker a peace deal between the two countries — an effort that has often appeared more favorable to the Russian side. Don Bacon, a centrist Republican congressman who will retire at the end of this year, expressed concern about the message that Trump’s actions could convey. “My main concern is that Russia will now use this to justify its illegal and barbaric military actions against Ukraine, or that China will use this to justify an invasion of Taiwan.” Trump’s Democratic critics were more direct. “The United States should not be managing other countries under any circumstances,” said Brian Schatz of Hawaii, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “We should have learned by now not to engage in endless wars and regime change missions that have catastrophic consequences for Americans.” Representative Hakeem Jeffries, who could become speaker of the House if Democrats regain control of the House after the midterm legislative elections in November, said Maduro is a criminal and a dictator with a history of human rights violations. Still, he condemned Trump’s decision not to consult legislative leaders before launching the attack. “Donald Trump has a constitutional responsibility to uphold the law and protect democratic norms in the United States,” he said. “That’s what putting America first requires.” Trump said at the press conference that he chose not to inform Congress because he feared lawmakers would “leak” details of the operation before the attack. The military operation was considered a success — with no American deaths and limited damage to U.S. equipment. Trump, with his usual bravado, described the action as a “spectacular attack” and “one of the most impressive, effective and powerful demonstrations of American military strength and competence in the history of the United States.” Now, he is betting his presidency on continuing that success, while the US says it will take over the administration and reconstruction of Venezuela — although it is still unclear what that means in practice. Trump and his team will have to shore up a country that has been in turmoil for decades, while also trying to stabilize a region that is sure to watch carefully what Trump’s foreign policy has in store for it.

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