A controversial social media post by U.S. President Donald Trump has sparked fresh debate and confusion across international political circles.
President Trump shared an image on his social media platform, Truth Social, portraying himself as the “Acting President of Venezuela.”
This comes just days after Trump signed an Executive Order declaring a national emergency to protect Venezuelan oil revenue held in US Treasury accounts from legal attachment or judicial seizure.
Venezuela
He said the move is aimed at advancing US foreign policy and national security objectives.
According to the White House, the Executive Order blocks any attachment, judgment, lien, execution, garnishment or other judicial process against Venezuelan oil revenues and diluent sales deposited in US Treasury accounts.
These funds, termed “Foreign Government Deposit Funds,” are to remain frozen unless specifically authorised under the new order.
The order also prohibits any transfer or dealing in the funds and overrides earlier directives that may have regulated or restricted such transfers or dealings.
It states that the oil revenues are the sovereign property of Venezuela, held in US custody for governmental and diplomatic purposes, and cannot be claimed by private parties.
The U.S. Embassy had also warned that the security situation in Venezuela remained highly unstable and urged all U.S. citizens not to travel to the country and to depart immediately if already there.
In a January 10, 2026 security alert, the embassy reiterated longstanding travel warnings dating back to 2019, when the U.S. fully withdrew diplomatic personnel from its Caracas mission and suspended all consular services.
On January 3, 2026, the U.S. military launched a targeted operation in Venezuela that resulted in the abduction of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
In the early hours of January 3, more than 200 U.S. Special Operations forces conducted a pre-dawn raid in Caracas. The mission, codenamed Operation Absolute Resolve, targeted several locations, primarily the Fort Tiuna military complex.
U.S. forces reportedly “dragged” Maduro and Flores from their residence within the complex. They were transported to the USS Iwo Jima and subsequently flown to New York City.
While no U.S. personnel were killed, the raid resulted in significant casualties. Reports indicate that at least dozens of Venezuelan security officers and Cuban special forces, acting as Maduro’s bodyguards, were killed.
Following the capture, Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as acting president by the National Assembly, denouncing the operation as a “kidnapping” and a violation of sovereignty.
The public justification for the operation was framed as a law enforcement action. Upon their arrival in New York, an indictment was unsealed charging Maduro and Flores with narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy and weapons charges.
The U.S. Department of Justice alleged that Maduro had led a “cocaine-fueled” government for decades, partnering with cartels like the Sinaloa Cartel and the FARC to flood the U.S. with drugs.
On January 5, both Maduro and his wife pleaded not guilty in a Manhattan federal court.
Once the capture was secured, the rhetoric from the Trump administration began to shift from strictly criminal charges to the geopolitical and economic control of Venezuela’s natural resources.
President Trump stated shortly after the raid that the U.S. would “run the country” until a transition of power occurred.
Within days, the administration began organizing meetings with U.S. oil and gas executives to discuss rebuilding Venezuela’s energy sector.
The U.S. Department of Energy indicated it would “selectively roll back” sanctions to enable the sale of Venezuelan crude to global markets, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggesting an “oil quarantine” to exert leverage.
Critics and international observers noted that while the war on drugs provided the legal pretext for the “extraction,” the subsequent focus on oil reserves suggested that securing energy assets and regional influence were primary strategic goals.