Wannabe foreign-policy pro AOC lampooned for claiming Venezuela is below equator
WASHINGTON — New York City Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is facing criticism after mistakenly saying that Venezuela is “below the equator” during a panel on foreign policy in Germany.
Venezuela is actually located just above the equator. The Democratic socialist, who studied international relations at Boston University, made the remark Sunday while speaking at a Technical University of Berlin panel.
“[Nicolas] Maduro canceled elections. He was an anti-democratic leader,” Ocasio-Cortez said, referring to elections held under the Maduro administration that international observers have widely criticized as rigged. “That doesn’t mean that we can kidnap a head of state and engage in acts of war just because the nation is below the equator,” she added, referencing the Trump administration’s recent actions against Maduro and suspected drug traffickers in the region.
Ocasio-Cortez, who represents The Bronx and Queens, attended the Munich Security Conference last week to participate in panels and discussions on international affairs, a move some observers interpreted as an effort to boost her foreign-policy credentials ahead of a possible 2028 presidential or Senate bid.
Her broader message emphasized that global powers sometimes exploit weaker nations in the global south, undermining international norms.
Critics on the right quickly seized on her Venezuela comment. “What’s worse is the woke white liberals in Germany felt compelled to clap for her,” US Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) commented on X. Conservative commentator Nick Sortor added, “AOC has AGAIN made a fool out of herself on stage saying that we can’t capture leaders like Maduro in Venezuela ‘just because the nation is south of the equator’ — NONE of Venezuela is south of the equator.”
Independent journalist Glenn Greenwald also weighed in, questioning whether Ocasio-Cortez was ready to publicly discuss foreign policy.
Some allies defended her. Mehdi Hasan, CEO of Zeteo News, wrote, “All I see on my timeline is Republicans and legacy media reporters parsing every quote and comment from AOC in Germany, trying to mock them for incoherence or inaccuracy. Meanwhile, a ranting demented old man who can’t string sentences together, stay awake, or identify Germany on a map sits in the Oval Office.”
Observers noted that Ocasio-Cortez’s Munich visit was closely watched because she has relatively limited experience commenting on high-profile foreign-policy issues. In addition to the Venezuela misstatement, she faced questions about potential US responses to a Chinese invasion of Taiwan and struggled to summarize what she views as the biggest foreign-policy change under President Trump, according to critics.
Pronouncing “Venezuela” and “Maduro” in an accent she definitely doesn’t have is among the many accidentally funny things AOC does while desperately trying to come off as a serious person.
Can you imagine if I just dropped a heavy German accent talking about Düsseldorf and… https://t.co/3IFuCLf7J6
— 🐺 (@LeighWolf) February 16, 2026
Ocasio-Cortez’s overarching theme emphasized strengthening domestic policies to support the working class as a way to counter authoritarianism abroad. She currently polls at 7.5% among speculated 2028 Democratic presidential contenders, placing fourth in the latest RealClearPolitics aggregate.
Other potential 2028 Democratic candidates, including Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, also attended the Munich Security Conference, continuing a pattern of Democratic officials using international forums to build foreign-policy profiles.
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