US President Donald Trump on Sunday posted a photo of himself on his social media platform Truth Social with the designation “Acting President of Venezuela”, listing himself as “Incumbent January 2026.”
The post also carries his official portrait and identifies him as the 45th and 47th President of the United States, noting that he assumed office on January 20, 2025.
The post comes in the wake of a dramatic escalation earlier this month, when the United States carried out what it described as a “large-scale” strike against Venezuela.
During the operation, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured and flown to New York, where they were indicted on narco-terrorism conspiracy charges.
Explaining Washington’s position, Trump said the US would directly administer Venezuela for the time being.
“We will run Venezuela until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition. We can't take a chance that someone else takes over Venezuela who doesn't have the interests of Venezuelans in mind,” he said.
Even as Trump stakes his claim, Venezuela has moved to install an interim leadership. Vice President and oil minister Delcy Rodriguez was formally sworn in as the country’s interim president last week, following Maduro’s detention.
Trump has also linked the transition plan to Venezuela’s oil reserves, claiming that the interim authorities will hand over between 30 and 50 million barrels of “high-quality, sanctioned oil” to the United States to be sold at market price.
Detailing how the proceeds would be handled, Trump said, “That money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States! I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan immediately. It will be taken by storage ships and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States.”