Time reports that Donald Trump questioned Elon Musk’s Grok about Venezuela and the possible public reaction to Nicolás Maduro’s arrest before the January 2026 operation.
U.S. President Donald Trump questioned Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok about Venezuela several weeks before the U.S. operation that resulted in the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, according to a report by Time magazine.
The report said the matter came up during a private meeting between Trump and Musk in December 2025. According to Time, Trump spent several hours asking Grok questions on a range of subjects, including Venezuela, as tensions between Washington and Caracas were increasing.
One of the questions Trump reportedly asked Grok was how Venezuelans would react if the United States arrested Maduro.
According to the Time report, Grok responded that Maduro was highly unpopular in Venezuela and that many Venezuelans might welcome his arrest or removal from power.
At the time of the meeting, tensions between the United States and Venezuela were escalating. The U.S. administration was also carrying out military actions against some vessels that it accused of being involved in drug trafficking.
Maduro Captured Weeks Later
According to the report, U.S. forces captured Maduro on Jan. 3, 2026. Reports subsequently emerged of celebrations among some Venezuelans in Venezuela and abroad following his capture.
Time reported that Trump was influenced by Grok’s response and considered the chatbot’s analysis useful.
However, the report also makes clear that there is no public evidence showing that Grok itself prompted Trump to authorize military action or that the operation was decided on the basis of the chatbot’s response.
The available media reporting indicates only that Trump consulted the AI chatbot before the operation and considered its assessment worth examining.
The episode highlights the reported use of AI-generated analysis in discussions surrounding a major foreign-policy and military decision, while the available evidence does not establish that Grok played a decisive role in the decision to act against Maduro.
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