00:00A stunning declaration rocking global diplomacy.
00:27U.S. President Donald Trump has posted a digitally altered image declaring himself the acting
00:34president of Venezuela, just days after Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was captured
00:40by U.S. forces in a dramatic military operation.
00:44The image, shared on Truth Social and styled like a Wikipedia page, shows Trump's official
00:50portrait with the title Acting President of Venezuela, a claim with no official legitimacy
00:57but massive international fallout.
01:00This comes in the wake of a controversial U.S. military action in early January that led
01:05to the apprehension of Nicolás Maduro and his wife Celia Flores, sparking heated debate
01:11over legality, sovereignty and international law.
01:15Despite Trump's extraordinary claim, Venezuela's leadership transition follows its own laws.
01:22The Supreme Tribunal of Justice named Vice President Delce Rodríguez as acting president under
01:28constitutional succession.
01:30After the operation, Trump said the U.S. would run Venezuela during the transition, to get
01:36the oil flowing, and then declared America was in charge, comments that have fueled diplomatic
01:42firestorms.
01:44But even within his own government, messages are mixed, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio
01:50clarifying the U.S. does not plan to directly administer Venezuela, despite the provocative
01:56imagery and rhetoric.
01:58Trump didn't stop there, posting another tongue-in-cheek claim that Senator Marco Rubio
02:03is the president of Cuba, with the quip, sounds good to me, underscoring the escalation in Latin
02:10America rhetoric.
02:12And on the legal front, Maduro now faces federal charges in the U.S., pleading not guilty while
02:18asserting his capture violated international law, a dramatic legal battle unfolding far from
02:24Caracas.
02:26As questions mount over legitimacy, international law, and the future of Venezuela's government,
02:32Trump's bold social media post may be remembered as one of the most unusual assertions of presidential
02:38authority in modern history.
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