In a bizarre and frankly surreal moment that played more like parody than policy, Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro once again reached into the Western pop culture vault, dusted off a Lennon classic, and tried to strum the chords of peace — all while standing knee-deep in narco-terror allegations and international sanctions.
During a mandatory broadcast by the regime’s media arm, Maduro — the self-styled revolutionary leader whose grip on Venezuela has been defined by hyperinflation, repression, and systemic corruption — awkwardly crooned John Lennon’s Imagine.
The setting: a rally of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) in the state of Miranda. The intent: ostensibly to send a “peace message” to then-U.S. President Donald Trump amid rising tensions in the Caribbean, where the U.S. Navy had deployed forces to counter regional drug cartels — many of which Washington links directly to Maduro’s regime.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared on Sunday that Nicolas Maduro is “not the president of Venezuela.” Instead, Rubio says Maduro is the head of a narco-terrorist cartel that has “taken possession of the country.” https://t.co/1gH2Gd22r8
— Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) July 27, 2025
“Peace, peace, peace… do everything for peace,” Maduro declared, calling Lennon’s lyrics a “gift to humanity” and urging Venezuelan youth to look them up. What followed was a theatrical rendition of Imagine, complete with peace signs, staged cheer, and a soundtrack that did most of the heavy lifting. Maduro even broke into English — or something close to it — declaring “Long live peace!” while referring to Lennon as a “great poet.”
But the tone-deaf performance was more than cringe-inducing — it was grotesquely ironic.
This is the same Maduro who faces a $50 million bounty from the U.S. government, accused of leading the Cartel of the Suns, a narco-terror network allegedly responsible for shipping vast quantities of cocaine into the United States. While Maduro waved his hands in a pantomime of peace, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was announcing plans to formally designate the cartel as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
In stark contrast to the Lennon-inspired spectacle, White House officials reiterated that the Maduro regime is viewed not as a legitimate government, but as a criminal enterprise — and a clear threat to regional stability.
The contradiction is glaring: a man at the helm of a regime deeply embedded in organized crime, sending out awkward, mistranslated soundbites like “no crazy war, please” and “not war, yes pits,” while presiding over a collapsing nation marked by hunger, mass emigration, and silence from the once-vibrant opposition.
