Global & US Headlines
Trump Self-Proclaims ‘Acting President’ of Venezuela After U.S. Abducts Maduro
On 12 Jan 2026, Donald Trump publicly declared himself “Acting President of Venezuela” on Truth Social, following a 3 Jan U.S. raid that removed Nicolás Maduro and left competing claims to power.
Focusing Facts
- Operation “Absolute Resolve” on 3 Jan 2026 flew Maduro and wife from Caracas to New York to face sealed U.S. narco-terrorism charges.
- Venezuelan Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez was sworn in as interim president by the Supreme Tribunal on 5 Jan 2026, citing Articles 233–235 of the constitution.
- Trump’s 10 Jan 2026 executive order froze Venezuelan oil revenues in U.S. banks and arranged a first 50 million-barrel crude shipment to U.S. refiners.
Context
Washington has overthrown Latin American leaders before—e.g., the 1954 CIA coup in Guatemala and the 1989 arrest of Manuel Noriega in Panama—but not since the 1898 occupation of Cuba has a sitting U.S. president openly claimed another nation’s presidency. Trump’s gambit revives the 19th-century Monroe Doctrine logic while grafting 21st-century social-media theatrics onto hard-power gunboat diplomacy. The event underscores two structural trends: the re-militarisation of U.S. hemispheric policy after decades of covert action, and the use of energy leverage as a geopolitical cudgel when global oil demand is projected to peak within a decade. Whether this moment echoes Noriega’s swift ouster or Iraq’s protracted occupation will shape regional views of sovereignty for the next century; if successful, it normalises digital self-coronation backed by force, but a quagmire could make it a cautionary footnote in the long decline of fossil-fuel-driven great-power interventions.
Perspectives
Left-leaning U.S. media
e.g., HuffPost — Portrays Trump’s self-appointment as Venezuela’s leader as a reckless, almost comical abuse of power that further proves his autocratic impulses. Coverage is steeped in mockery and outrage that fits these outlets’ adversarial stance toward Trump, foregrounding sensational language (“completely insane”) while giving little space to legal rationales offered by the White House.
Indian national media
e.g., India Today, The Hindu — Frames the episode as a dramatic U.S. military intervention that has triggered an international law dispute, stressing that Maduro calls his removal a “kidnapping” and that no body recognises Trump’s claim. Reporting leans on wire copy and global reactions, spotlighting legal controversy to captivate domestic readers yet offers limited Venezuelan or U.S. administration voices, which can flatten nuance.
Gulf regional outlets
e.g., DT News Bahrain, Khaleej Times — Present Trump’s assertion and U.S. ‘temporary management’ of Venezuela as a pragmatic move to prevent a power vacuum and unlock oil cooperation, quoting him optimistically about relations with interim leadership. Given close economic and security ties with Washington, these publications relay U.S. talking points with minimal scepticism, downplaying questions of sovereignty or congressional authorisation.