President Trump calls himself Venezuela’s ‘acting president’ in post
President Donald Trump posted a photo that mimics a Wikipedia page declaring himself “acting president of Venezuela.”
The era of Trump may be upon us in Venezuela.
Days after jokingly endorsing his secretary of state to become Cuba’s president, President Donald Trump suggested on January 11 that he might be interested in a similar role in other countries in the Western Hemisphere.
Less than 10 days after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3, President Trump shared a doctored Wikipedia page identifying himself as “Acting President of Venezuela” in a post on Truth Social.
Maduro’s Vice President Delcy Rodriguez, who was sworn in as Venezuela’s new interim president last week, said she wants to work with the U.S. government.
“We call on the U.S. government to work together on an agenda of cooperation oriented toward joint development within the framework of international law to strengthen the lasting coexistence of our communities,” she said in an Instagram post on January 4.
Maduro and his wife were indicted in federal court in Manhattan on drug trafficking and other charges and have pleaded not guilty. They are in U.S. custody in Brooklyn.
Meanwhile, on January 8, President Trump said in an interview on Fox News’ Hannity that Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Colina Machado would visit the United States “sometime next week.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio may be preparing for a new role, having held multiple positions since the beginning of the year, including acting national security adviser, acting USAID administrator, and acting administrator of the United States Archives.
President Trump threatened Cuba in a Jan. 11 edition of Truth Social, saying Venezuelan oil flowing into the country would soon stop and calling for “a deal before it’s too late.”
“Cuba has been living off tons of oil and gold from Venezuela for years. In return, Cuba has provided ‘security services’ to the last two Venezuelan dictators, but no more!” President Trump wrote on Truth Social on January 11. “Most of those Cubans died in the US attack last week, and Venezuela no longer needs protection from Venezuelan thugs and extortionists.” They have been hostages for years. ”
One social media user predicted President Trump’s message to Cuba on January 8, predicting that Rubio could become Cuba’s next president.
President Trump responded, “I think that’s a good thing.”
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy is USA TODAY’s White House correspondent. You can follow her at X @SwapnaVenugopal.
