On Sunday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced on social media that he is now the “Acting President of Venezuela.” The announcement was made on his personal social media site, Truth Social. His official photograph was displayed with a title under it “Acting President of Venezuela, Incumbent January 2026”. Moreover, it indicates his title as the 45th and the 47th President of the U.S., who took office on January 20, 2025.
On January 3, 2026, the U.S. forces took Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro out of the country. They arrested him after a nighttime operation that resulted in a lot of strikes and was the last event in a series of months-long pressure on the oil-rich nation.
Along with the announcement of Madura’s capture, President Trump asserted that the U.S. had already set up its presence in Venezuela and said that his government would control Caracas, at least temporarily, and would extract oil from the country for sale to other nations in large amounts.
Statements such as, “We are going to govern the country until we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition,” were also made at a news press conference by Trump.
U.S. President Donald Trump told the world hours after the seizure of Nicolas Maduro that America would “run” Venezuela and draw on its gigantic oil reserves. He was at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and was speaking at a news conference after what he said was “one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American might and confidence.”
At the same time, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Venezuela started a constitutional succession process in the country. To maintain the continuity of government and national security, the court directed the Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez to take the position of an Acting President.
The ruling by the court states Rodríguez would hold “the office of president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in order to assure administrative continuity and the total protection of the Nation,”. At the same time, the Acting Head of State requested the United States of America to release Maduro, whom she considers the legitimate leader of Venezuela.
This has led to rivalry to legitimacy of power over Venezuela and a direct political and diplomatic battle has ensued. The international community has presently a complicated scenario of the utilization of military force, the independence of a nation, and divergent interpretation of proper governance.
