Fraudster George Santos claims he’s going to Venezuela ‘to help with aid’

George Santos, the gay former Republican congressman from New York, announced on Sunday that he plans to travel to Caracas “in the coming days to help with aid” for Venezuelans, just days after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in an unprecedented military operation.

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“Many people need help and for far too long it was impossible to bring them any relief,” the disgraced convicted felon wrote on X, formerly Twitter, adding, “I look forward to being part of the solution and ending the problems of a people oppressed for far too long. Viva la libertad! Viva Venezuela!”

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The U.S. military’s January 3 assault on Caracas, part of what Pentagon officials dubbed Operation Absolute Resolve, included airstrikes and a helicopter extraction that resulted in Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, being flown to New York City to face narco-terrorism and drug-trafficking charges in federal court. Maduro pleaded not guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on Monday morning, insisting he remains Venezuela’s legitimate president even as global leaders sharply dispute the legality and morality of the strike.

Santos’s post arrives amid broad international backlash to the U.S. operation. Countries including China and Russia condemned the assault as a blatant violation of sovereignty and international law, while leading European nations urged diplomatic caution. Venezuela’s Supreme Court appointed Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, as interim president. She has contested the U.S. move while signaling potential diplomatic cooperation.

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“I’m sick and tired of hearing ‘it’s illegal, it’s an international crime,’” Santos said in a Sunday social media video. “The oligarchy was fat and well in Venezuela while everyone else was starving, so please pardon me if you think Trump committed a crime.”

For Santos, the announcement is part of a broader effort to thrust himself into national and global headlines after a stunning fall from grace. Convicted in 2024 of federal fraud, identity theft, and campaign finance violations, Santos was sentenced to more than seven years in prison, only for President Donald Trump to commute his sentence and eliminate restitution and fines in late 2025.

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Critics consider Santos’s post as yet another attempt to remain relevant. Last month, Santos threw a lavish Washington Christmas party that drew fringe political figures and media attention and was widely mocked as a spectacle.