U.S. President Donald Trump has declared himself the interim governor of Venezuela in a post shared on his social media platform, Truth Social, sparking widespread controversy.

In a striking move, Trump posted an image of himself taken from Wikipedia labeled “Acting President of Venezuela,” appearing to mock the legitimacy of Delcy Rodríguez, the vice president of detained Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who assumed power following his arrest on January 3 by a U.S. special force.

Meanwhile, Delcy Rodríguez, who describes herself as Venezuela’s interim president, said in a post on X that “the government must preserve sovereign authority to defend the country.”

The development comes as U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright stated on Sunday that Washington’s role in overseeing the situation in Venezuela, with the aim of eventually transferring power, could last for years.