Donald Trump, president of the United States, has posted a doctored image of himself as the “acting president of Venezuela” on his Truth Social platform.
The development came a week after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by United States forces.
The image, shared on Sunday, resembled a mock Wikipedia entry and declared Trump as Venezuela’s acting leader as of January 2026.
The US captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a large-scale strike in early January, and Trump asserted that Washington would take charge of Venezuela’s affairs.
Trump said that the US would administer the country until there could be a “safe, proper and judicious transition” following Maduro’s capture and removal from power.
The operation led to Maduro being flown to the US, where he appeared in a federal court in New York and pleaded not guilty to drug-related charges.
Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s vice-president, was sworn in as interim president after Maduro’s detention, a development Trump described as “gracious.”
Despite that, Trump warned Rodríguez that she would likely fare “probably worse” than Maduro if she did not cooperate with US directives.
Trump’s statements also included demands that Venezuela sever ties with China, Cuba, Russia, and Iran and forge exclusive oil cooperation with the United States.
Trump went on to say that Venezuela would transfer between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States as part of the evolving arrangement.
Rodríguez subsequently said that her government would open Venezuela’s oil sector to cooperation with Washington.