Trump Says He Is ‘Acting President of Venezuela’

Donald Trump took his recent assault on Venezuela’s sovereignty a step further in a provocative Truth Social post in which he declared himself the «Acting President of Venezuela», sharing a digitally altered image suggesting he held that title amid fallout from a dramatic U.S. military intervention. In early January, U.S. special forces carried out a large-scale strike in Caracas that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, who were flown to the United States to face federal narcotics and weapons charges; Maduro has pleaded not guilty and described himself as a «prisoner of war.» The operation, which Trump described as aimed at dismantling what he called a narco-terrorist regime and securing a transition, drew widespread international scrutiny and raised questions about U.S. involvement in Venezuelan affairs. Trump has insisted Washington will «run» Venezuela until a safe transition occurs and has signaled interest in controlling its vast oil resources, while Venezuelan authorities dispute U.S. claims and assert their sovereignty under interim leadership

In the wake of the dramatic U.S. military operation that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and brought him to New York to face federal charges, Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, has been sworn in as acting president under the country’s constitutional order, though her legitimacy is widely disputed domestically and internationally. Rodríguez’s government has begun tentative talks with the United States about restoring diplomatic relations and prisoner releases amid deep political turmoil. Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, who has openly praised the U.S. role in Maduro’s ouster and is scheduled to meet Trump in Washington, sparked controversy by suggesting she might share her Nobel Prize with him — a notion the Norwegian Nobel Committee emphatically rejected, reminding the public that a Nobel Prize cannot be transferred or shared once awarded.

Against a backdrop of intense geopolitical tension over Venezuela’s future, Donald Trump escalated the situation further with a Truth Social post in which he declared himself the «Acting President of Venezuela» alongside a picture of a fake Wikipedia page that labeled him «incumbent since January 2026», a digitally altered image that has drawn widespread indignation and criticism from world leaders and commentators who view the claim as provocative and illegitimate. In reality, Venezuela’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, was sworn in as acting president on January 5 following the capture of Nicolás Maduro, a move ordered by the country’s Supreme Court and rejected as illegitimate by the European Union and several governments. Trump’s unusual claim, widely seen as a controversial gesture rather than any legally grounded authority, has intensified debate over U.S. involvement in Venezuela’s crisis and sparked demonstrations around the world, with protesters condemning what they describe as an unlawful violation of Venezuelan sovereignty and a dangerous escalation of international tensions.