In a move that has stunned diplomats, U.S. President Donald Trump has declared himself the “Acting President of Venezuela,” escalating a dramatic U.S. intervention that began with the military capture of the country’s leader and has swiftly moved to seize control of its economic assets.
The declaration was made late Friday in a post on Trump’s Truth Social platform, accompanied by an image graphically portraying him with the title. It caps a ten-day sequence of events that has effectively placed the South American nation under unprecedented American control.
The crisis began on January 3, when over 200 U.S. Special Operations forces launched “Operation Absolute Resolve,” a pre-dawn raid in Caracas. The mission resulted in the extraction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, from the Fort Tiuna military complex.
They were transported to a U.S. naval vessel and flown to New York City, where they were indicted on federal narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Following the capture, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as acting president, condemning the operation as a “violent kidnapping.”
However, the U.S. administration’s focus quickly shifted from law enforcement to resource control. Days after the raid, President Trump stated the U.S. would “run the country” during a transition. This was followed by high-level meetings with American oil executives to discuss rebuilding Venezuela’s crippled energy sector.
The legal mechanism for control was cemented this week. President Trump signed an Executive Order declaring a national emergency and blocking all Venezuelan oil revenue and assets held in U.S. accounts from any judicial seizure or attachment.
The White House stated the funds, termed “Foreign Government Deposit Funds,” are the “sovereign property of Venezuela” but will remain frozen in U.S. custody to advance American foreign policy and national security.
The social media post declaring Trump “Acting President” appears to be a rhetorical culmination of these actions, though its legal standing is unclear. It has ignited a firestorm of criticism, with opponents labeling it a brazen act of neo-colonialism and a violation of international sovereignty.
The U.S. Embassy in Caracas, which has been closed since 2019, issued a new security alert urging all American citizens to leave Venezuela immediately, citing a “highly unstable” security situation.
Analysts note that while the initial justification for capturing Maduro was rooted in criminal charges, the subsequent seizure of state assets and Trump’s self-appointed title reveal a broader strategy to dismantle the Venezuelan government and control the nation’s vast oil reserves, the largest in the world.
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