Musk’s AI chatbot Grok reportedly encouraged Trump to capture Venezuela’s president
Reports indicate that President Trump consulted Elon Musk's Grok AI chatbot for strategic advice regarding the U.S. invasion of Venezuela and the capture of Nicolás Maduro. The incident highlights the growing integration of private AI models into high-level military and political decision-making processes.
Why it matters
The use of commercial AI models in sensitive geopolitical and military operations raises significant questions about accountability, algorithmic bias, and the influence of private tech leaders on national security.
In December 2025, about a month before the U.S. invaded Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro, President Trump had a secret meeting with Elon Musk, Time magazine reports. This was roughly seven months after Musk left his role in the Trump administration at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
During this meeting, Trump “spent hours” talking to Musk’s Grok chatbot, including asking how Venezuelans would respond to the capture of their president, a source told Time. Just a few months earlier, in September, Trump began ordering U.S. military strikes against Venezuelan boats that Trump alleged were involved in drug trafficking.
People had apparently been turning to Grok asking about the boat strikes and political climate in Venezuela, as the Atlantic reported at the time. So Grok told Trump that Maduro was a “deeply unpopular dictator and that many Venezuelans would likely celebrate his downfall,” Time reported.
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