A Venezuelan man celebrating the Trump administration’s Saturday capture and removal of socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro responded to criticism of the operation with an analogy involving one of the country’s iconic foods.
While the Trump administration made it clear that its decision to remove Maduro from power primarily had to do with his alleged role as the head of a narco-terrorism empire, some Democratic U.S. lawmakers condemned the operation and argued its true purpose was for the U.S. to gain control of Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. A Venezuelan expatriate, recorded in a clip which has since gone viral on social media, addressed the accusation when speaking to reporters at what appeared to be a massive celebration of Maduro’s removal in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“Those who say that the U.S. is only interested in our oil, I ask you: What do you think the Russians and the Chinese wanted here? The recipe for arepas?” the man reportedly asked in Spanish.
“Impossible,” he answered in Spanish of his own question.
Venezuelan man:
“Those who say that the U.S. is only interested in our oil, I ask you: What do you think the Russians and the Chinese wanted here?
The recipe for arepas?” pic.twitter.com/BWpCmCxFGI
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) January 4, 2026
The clip had been viewed several million times since it was first posted to X on Saturday evening.
Arepas are round flatbreads made from cornmeal or corn flour and can be either eaten on their own or stuffed with a variety of fillings such as cheese and meat. They are extremely popular across northern South America, specifically in the cuisines of Venezuela and neighboring Colombia.
Venezuelan expatriate communities worldwide cheered the overthrow of Maduro’s regime.
In the South Florida city of Doral, hundreds of Venezuelans and Venezuelan Americans took to the street in celebration, waving flags and dancing to music upon hearing news of the 13-year dictator’s capture. About 40% of Doral’s roughly 80,000 residents are of Venezuelan descent.
While in power, Maduro was notably allied with U.S. adversaries including China, Russia, and Iran.
Since 2019, China functioned as the largest importer of Venezuelan oil and therefore stands to lose much following Maduro’s arrest, Reuters reported. In 2025, the majority of Venezuela’s crude oil exports went to China, according to the outlet.
On Wednesday, days before the successful operation which ousted the Venezuelan dictator, Russia formally asked the U.S. to cease its pursuit of a rogue oil tanker bound for the South American nation before fleeing the U.S. Coast Guard and claiming Russian protection, The New York Times first reported.
Both China and Russia decried the Trump administration’s capture of their key Western Hemisphere ally.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China said in a Saturday statement China “firmly opposes” the U.S.’s Venezuela strike.
“China is deeply shocked by and strongly condemns the U.S.’s blatant use of force against a sovereign state and action against its president,” the statement added. “Such hegemonic acts of the U.S. seriously violate international law and Venezuela’s sovereignty, and threaten peace and security in Latin America and the Caribbean region.”
The same day, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a similar statement claiming the operation constituted “an act of armed aggression.”
“This causes deep concern and condemnation,” the Russian government’s statement read. “We reaffirm our solidarity with the Venezuelan people and our support for the course of its Bolivarian leadership aimed at defending the country’s national interests and sovereignty.”
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