WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has declared himself the “Acting President of Venezuela” days after a US military operation that led to the capture of the country’s President Nicolas Maduro.
The US president shared what appeared to be an edited Wikipedia-style image on his social media platform, Truth Social, portraying himself as “acting president” alongside his official portrait and title.
The post also named US Vice President JD Vance as the “Vice President of Venezuela.”
However, Venezuela’s actual Wikipedia page does not list Trump as acting president, and no international body has recognised or endorsed the claim.
The post followed the US capture and removal of sitting Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was flown to New York along with his wife to face federal drug trafficking charges. The operation came after months of US pressure, sanctions, and military activity targeting the oil-rich nation.
Addressing a press conference following the attack, Trump announced: “This was one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American might and competence in American history.” He further said that Washington would run the oil-rich country until a transition takes place.
During the court hearing on Jan 5, Maduro pleaded not guilty in New York federal court to four criminal counts that include narco-terrorism, cocaine importation conspiracy and possession of machine guns and destructive devices.
He told the federal judge that he had been “kidnapped” from Venezuela and said: “I’m innocent, I’m not guilty.”
Maduro is accused of overseeing a cocaine-trafficking network that partnered with violent groups including Mexico’s Sinaloa and Zetas cartels, Colombian FARC rebels and Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua gang.
UN Chief Antonio Guterres raised concerns about instability in Venezuela and the legality of Trump’s strike, the most dramatic US intervention in Latin America since the 1989 Panama invasion. US Special Forces swooped into Caracas by helicopter on Saturday, shattered his security cordon and dragged him from the threshold of a safe room.
