PresidentDonald Trumpappears to support adding "acting president of Venezuela" to his credentials amid mixed messages on who is in charge in the South American country.
In aJan. 11 Truth Social post, Trump shared a screenshot of his Wikipedia page, altered to list "acting president of Venezuela, incumbent January 2026," under his official portrait.
On Jan. 3, U.S. troops captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife in asurprise attack, after months of mounting U.S. pressure on Venezuela, anoil-rich country. Trump at a press conference later that day said the U.S. would run the country until there would be a "safe, proper and judicious transition."
Secretary of State Marco Rubioand White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt have said instead that the U.S. is using "leverage" over the country as it moves to interim leadership, even as Trump has maintained that "we're in charge."
He also told The New York Times in an exclusive interview that he expected the U.S. to be runningVenezuela and extracting its oil for years.
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Venezuela's VP Delcy Rodriguez takes over after Maduro capture
Who is the actual acting president of Venezuela?
Venezuela's previous Vice President Delcy Rodríguezunder Maduro has been sworn in as the interim president. She originally rejected claims she was willing to work with theTrump administration, but has since said she is open to it.
"We invite the US government to collaborate with us on an agenda of cooperation oriented towards shared development within the framework of international law to strengthen lasting community coexistence," she said in an Instagram post on Jan. 4.
A Jan. 12 review of Trump's Wikipedia page shows the title of "Acting President of Venezuela" was not listed under his portrait.
Why did Trump take the Venezuelan president?
The U.S. has beenescalating pressure on Venezuelafor months, conductingstrikes on boatsit accused of carrying drugs, building up military presence in the Caribbean near the country and warning airlines to avoidVenezuelan airspace.
Trump called Maduro an "outlaw dictator" in announcing the arrest at a press conference at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, on Jan. 3.Maduro took office in 2013and has presided over the collapse of the Venezuelan economy. Both Maduro and his opponent claimed victory in the country's 2024 election, and many foreign leaders, including Trump, have questioned or rejected thelegitimacy of Maduro's win.
Trump also said Maduro's arrest will open Venezuela's oil reserves, previously state-owned, for oil businesses.
"We're going to rebuild the oil infrastructure, which will cost billions of dollars," Trump said. The cost will be "paid for by the oil companies directly," but they will be "reimbursed," he said.
"We're going toget the oil flowingthe way it should be," he added.
Maduro was indicted on four counts accusing him of leading a25-year narco-terrorism conspiracy. Maduro appeared in court on Jan. 5 and pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Contributing: Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,Lauren Villagran, Mike Snider, Cybele Mayes-Osterman, USA TODAY
Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at KCrowley@usatodayco.com. Follow her onX (Twitter),BlueskyandTikTok.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Does Wikipedia really call Trump the 'Acting President of Venezuela?'
