President Donald Trump posted an image on Truth Social on Sunday showing a mocked-up Wikipedia page edited to describe him as the “Acting President of Venezuela.”
The screenshot displays Trump’s portrait and the line: “Acting President of Venezuela, incumbent January 2026.” It also lists him as the 45th and 47th president of the United States. The real Wikipedia pages for Trump and Venezuela do not include that description.
Why It Matters
The post comes amid uncertainty over Venezuela’s long-term leadership. Trump shared it more than a week after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and flew him to New York to face federal drug trafficking charges. In his first court appearance on January 6, Maduro pleaded not guilty and declared himself “the president of my country.”
After the operation, Trump said the U.S. would “run” Venezuela temporarily until a “safe, proper and judicious transition” could be carried out. Delcy Rodríguez—previously Venezuela’s vice president and oil minister—was inaugurated as interim president. Speaking in Caracas, Rodríguez said: “There is no external agent governing Venezuela.”
What To Know
The operation to remove Maduro drew criticism from countries including China, Russia, Colombia, and Spain, which said it violated international law. The Trump administration has defended the action as a criminal justice operation. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche previously told NBC News: “The United States has an absolute legal right to go and arrest people charged with horrible crimes.”
“What we did was not only right and not only legal, but it’s what the American people expect us to do when we file charges against individuals like [Maduro],” he added.
Trump has dismissed the idea of working with Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, saying “she doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”
Former national security advisor John Bolton previously told Newsweek that the move “marks a 180-degree turn from the policy in the first Trump term, which was to work with the Venezuelan opposition,” adding that being invited in by the opposition of a foreign country “legitimizes our action.”
What People Are Saying
Trump previously described the U.S. approach this way: “The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolás Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country. This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement.”
María Corina Machado has said: “We are ready and willing to serve our people as we have been mandated.”
What Happens Next
Venezuela’s direction remains unclear, with much of the U.S. administration’s attention focused on the country’s oil sector. On Friday, Trump said he was canceling a second wave of strikes, citing cooperation from authorities in Caracas.
In a Truth Social post Friday morning, Trump called the release of Venezuelan political prisoners a “very important and smart gesture.”
“The U.S.A. and Venezuela are working well together, especially as it pertains to rebuilding, in a much bigger, better, and more modern form, their oil and gas infrastructure,” Trump said.
“Because of this cooperation, I have cancelled the previously expected second Wave of Attacks, which looks like it will not be needed, however, all ships will stay in place for safety and security purposes.”
