Y’all. Get this. Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela’s illegitimate narco-terrorist “president,” claims he’s… poor.
As I reported earlier this week, Donald Trump confirmed that we made our first land strike against the Venezuelan narco-regime on Christmas Eve, and Maduro has been largely silent about it. Instead, he’s ramped up his confident strongman act, claiming that his “loyal” military has kept “Goliath,” aka the United States, at bay for 27 straight weeks.
Now, he’s going for humble.
“I’m not a magnate, and I don’t want material wealth in my life. I only have one account, a small savings account where they deposit my little presidential salary, which I never see. I earn two petros,” he said while making a public address this week. For what it’s worth, “petros” were some sort of government-issued cryptocurrency that Maduro created in 2018, but they have since been discontinued. As best I can tell, two petros would be about $120 USD.
He then added that he doesn’t even get to see that money because his wife takes it as soon as it hits the bank account and buys herself a little something.
Cool story, bro, but you might want to check your accessories before you start talking about that. I can’t verify this myself, but several X users and Grok suggest that while he was telling this story, he was wearing a watch that costs tens of thousands of dollars.
Maduro dice que él está pobre:
“Tengo una sola cuentica de ahorro, donde me depositan mi sueldito de presidente, que casi no le veo la cara. Yo gano dos petros, pero ni a eso le veo la cara, porque cuando la voy a sacar ya la ha agarrado Cilita para comprar alguna cosita”. pic.twitter.com/eghkHB8nAa
— Emmanuel Rincón (@EmmaRincon) December 29, 2025
But if you don’t believe me, Grok, or many X users, maybe you’ll believe Jorge Rodríguez, the president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, the brother of Maduro’s “vice president,” and supposedly a lot of the brain behind the narco-regime. After Maduro’s “I’m just your poor, humble el presidente” speech, this clip from July 2024 has gone viral on X. In it, he’s telling people to vote, but if you watch Rodríguez carefully, he nods at Maduro’s watch as if warning him to hide it, and then Maduro attempts to pull his sleeve down over it. I’m not a watch expert, but many say it’s a Rolex. That man must have been saving for years.
#Venezuela 🇻🇪 Do you remember ..
The day “poor” Maduro hid his Rolex that he “bought with his 2 petros” when Jorge Rodríguez signaled to him because it was showing. 😂😂😏-@amilcarrock pic.twitter.com/2dZkoWk5VU
— Michael Welling (@WellingMichael) December 30, 2025
And it’s not just watches. As I reported last month, he appeared on a state TV program wearing a pair of $1,085 Loro Piana shoes.
All of this would be hilarious if the majority of the Venezuelan people — 80% or some accounts suggest even more — didn’t live in extreme poverty brought on by Maduro’s corruption. The country’s average monthly salary is about $237 USD, with many public workers, like nurses, police officers, and teachers, earning much less — around $70 to $100 per month, which is paid via cash and vouchers. The children are malnourished, especially babies and toddlers. Parents often have to decide between feeding themselves and their families. Families go months without meat or protein. School is often called off because the kids are too hungry to attend.
Related: The Children Starve While the Emperor Wears $1,000 Shoes
That’s why 90%, give or take, of the Venezuelan people welcome Trump’s action against the narco-terrorist regime that is holding the country hostage. The only complaint I hear from them is that we’re not taking him out fast enough.
That said, the pressure is growing like wildfire. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been handing out sanctions like Shriners handing out candy at a 4th of July parade. On Tuesday, he sanctioned companies and individuals involved with the country’s weapons trade with Iran. Today, he went after “four companies for operating in Venezuela’s oil sector and identified four associated oil tankers as blocked property.” Here’s more:
These vessels, some of which are part of the shadow fleet serving Venezuela, continue to provide financial resources that fuel Maduro’s illegitimate narco-terrorist regime. Maduro’s regime increasingly depends on a shadow fleet of worldwide vessels to facilitate sanctionable activity, including sanctions evasion, and to generate revenue for its destabilizing operations. Today’s action further signals that those involved in the Venezuelan oil trade continue to face significant sanctions risks.
The State Department also released a statement on the sanctions, and I found the language shift interesting. “Today’s sanctions continue President Trump’s pressure campaign on Maduro and his cronies. The Trump Administration is committed to disrupting the network that props up Maduro and his illegitimate regime,” it read.
It didn’t mention drugs or narco-anything at all and seemed to confirm something Trump has said lately: Maduro’s days are numbered. I think most of us with half a brain have known that for many months, but Democrats, the MSM, and a few rogue Republican politicians and personalities have recently taken to their fainting couches, acting as if they’ve uncovered some sinister “regime change” operation that came out of left field. Heck, even the Joe Biden administration was pressuring Maduro in the end, even if some of its actions are the reason why we’re in the situation we’re in now.
See also: Biden’s Venezuelan Disaster
Oh well, Maduro still doesn’t seem fazed by any of this or, at least, that’s the show he’s putting on for the 30 or so Venezuelans who still pay any attention to him. He’s still dancing to that stupid techno song someone made out of his broken English phrases like “no crazy wars” and “peace forever.” Keep dancing, fool. You won’t being doing so much longer.
Maduro minutes ago. pic.twitter.com/pHS5VN4WPb
— Emmanuel Rincón (@EmmaRincon) December 31, 2025
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