He US President Donald Trumpconsulted the artificial intelligence chatbot Grok, developed by Elon Musk’s company, in December 2025 about how Venezuelans would react to an eventual capture of then-president Nicolás Maduro, as Time magazine revealed this Thursday.
The consultation took place during a private meeting between Trump and Musk at the White House, approximately a month before US forces captured Maduro in a military operation in Venezuela, on January 3, according to a source present at the meeting cited by the magazine.
Trump spent hours asking Grok questions about various issues related to his presidency and legacy and, in the midst of the US military campaign against Venezuelan vessels that Washington linked to drug trafficking, specifically asked how Venezuelans would react if the United States captured Maduro.
According to Time’s source, Grok responded that Maduro was a “deeply unpopular dictator” and that many Venezuelans would likely celebrate his fall. The information published by the magazine does not indicate that the chatbot directly recommended capturing the Venezuelan president.
When the US operation occurred on January 3 and celebrations were recorded among sectors of the Venezuelan population, Trump was impressed by Grok’s ability, according to the same source.
The revelation comes months after Trump ordered a military operation that ended with the capture of Maduro and his transfer to the United States, where he faces charges related to drug trafficking and corruption. After the operation, Trump announced that Washington would assume control of Venezuela during the transition period.
The episode highlights the growing role that artificial intelligence has taken on in the Trump administration’s security and defense decisions. In June, the Pentagon’s head of artificial intelligence claimed that the Department of Defense had used Gov Grok during the war with Iran to support force deployment and targeting.
