Democratic Socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been in office for less than 80 hours, and already he’s had a front-row seat to a geopolitical reality check. In that short span, the U.S. military forcibly captured his fellow socialist comrade-in-arms—now former Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro—and spirited him out of his country.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, arrived Saturday in New York City—the Big Apple—to face federal criminal charges in the Southern District of New York. Quite the welcome mat.
Somehow, it does seem fitting—almost poetic.
And right on cue, Zohran Mamdani is reportedly outraged that the United States would dare move against a narco–strongman who illegally seized power and ran a once-prosperous country into the ground. For the modern democratic socialist, it’s apparently easier to sympathize with a failed dictator than to acknowledge the damage inflicted by socialism in practice.
I was briefed this morning on the U.S. military capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, as well as their planned imprisonment in federal custody here in New York City.
Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and…
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) January 3, 2026
He whined:
Unilaterally attacking a sovereign nation is an act of war and a violation of federal and international law.
This blatant pursuit of regime change doesn’t just affect those abroad, it directly impacts New Yorkers, including tens of thousands of Venezuelans who call this city home. My focus is their safety and the safety of every New Yorker, and my administration will continue to monitor the situation and issue relevant guidance.
The problem with his little tantrum is simple: the United States—and a long list of international partners—do not recognize Nicolás Maduro as the legitimate leader of Venezuela:
— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) January 3, 2026
Mamdani didn’t stop at angry tweets, either—he reportedly picked up the phone and called President Donald Trump to personally vent his outrage over the administration’s actions. One can only imagine how that conversation went.
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Frankly, I would have paid good money to sit in on that call. Maybe Trump’s response was something like, ‘Yeah, okay, thank you for your input.’ Or maybe he just said, ‘Bless your heart.’
“I called the president and spoke with him directly to register my opposition to this act,” Mr. Mamdani said at an unrelated news conference on Saturday, adding that he told Mr. Trump that he was “opposed to a pursuit of regime change, to the violation of federal and international law.”
The mayor declined to characterize the president’s response when pressed by reporters. His aides said that Mr. Mamdani had initiated the call earlier on Saturday afternoon and that it was “brief.”
“I registered my opposition, I made it clear and we left it at that,” Mr. Mamdani said.
Yeah, I’m guessing that call didn’t last long.
Mamdani’s post on X also took plenty of heat, and for good reason. Users were quick to point out that Nicolás Maduro’s socialist policies are exactly what destroyed Venezuela—just as Zohran Mamdani’s proposals would wreck New York City if given the chance:
Zohran, the Venezuelans in New York City are there because Maduro made their country unlivable and pushed them out. And most likely they are celebrating right now in NYC's streets.
Go explain to your own Venezuelan constituents why they shouldn't be celebrating instead of… pic.twitter.com/Jv9oPl3F15
— DataRepublican (small r) (@DataRepublican) January 3, 2026
Go explain to your own Venezuelan constituents why they shouldn’t be celebrating instead of virtue signaling about it on ?.
Absolutely right.
