Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez faced ridicule after mistakenly stating that Venezuela is situated south of the equator.
The rising Latino political figure, who is often mentioned as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, made the geographical error while criticizing former President Donald Trump’s actions regarding Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro during an event in Berlin on Sunday. Ocasio-Cortez was in Germany following her attendance at the Munich Security Conference.
“Maduro canceled elections. He was an anti-democratic leader. That doesn’t justify us kidnapping a head of state and committing acts of war simply because the nation is below the equator,” she remarked about the socialist leader’s apprehension.
In reality, Venezuela is entirely in the northern hemisphere, located on the northern coast of South America, bordered by Guyana to the east, Brazil to the south, and Colombia to the west.
Social Media Pounces on ‘Below the Equator’ Claim
Supporters of former President Trump on social media were quick to highlight the congresswoman’s geographical blunder.
“Lmao! AOC embarrasses herself by claiming the U.S. can’t just detain leaders in places like Venezuela because it’s ‘below the equator,'” one user on X commented. “She must have attended the Quality Learning Center.”
Another wrote: ‘Venezuela is not below the equator. AOC is below intelligent.’
Ocasio-Cortez was criticizing the President for deposing Maduro, accusing the White House of hypocrisy and complicity in Venezuela’s corruption for failing to bring about true regime change.
‘Rubio and the Trump administration left Maduro’s regime intact,’ she said. ‘Whatever moralizing they have about it, they’re just as much a culprit in ignoring the election results as anybody else.’
She claimed that the international community’s failure to condemn the US for seizing Maduro had spurred an increasingly aggressive foreign policy.
AOC Positions Herself Against Rubio and Vance
‘It’s not a coincidence that when there was such a meek reaction to what happened in Venezuela, they immediately turned around and set their sights on Greenland,’ AOC said.
Ocasio-Cortez last week joined lawmakers and policymakers from around the world at the Munich Security Conference, an annual event to discuss global security challenges and foster diplomatic dialogue.
The congresswoman is hoping to burnish her international credentials along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, who was also in attendance, as the Democratic firebrands are expected to launch presidential campaigns.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his predecessor Hillary Clinton were also in attendance along with more than 450 heads of states, ministers and security experts from 70 countries.
AOC warns European leaders how serious Trump is about taking over Greenland
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warned European leaders over the weekend that President Donald Trump is serious about taking control of Greenland.
The progressive congresswoman appeared at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Friday, when she was asked on a panel that also featured Matthew Whitaker, the US Ambassador to NATO, and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer about the United States’ policy regarding the Danish territory.
Ocasio-Cortez, who is believed to be positioning herself as a Democratic frontrunner ahead of the 2028 presidential election, began her response by lamenting Trump’s rhetoric.
‘It’s unfortunate, I guess, we have to speak to the elephant in the room that partisanship has made this question something that even has to be asked behind closed doors in the first place,’ she said.
The New York congresswoman then seemed to speak for the Democratic Party, which she said she knows ‘is here for our allies.
‘We are shocked by the president’s destruction of our European allies,’ she said, adding: ‘His threatening over Greenland is not a joke, it is not funny. It threatens the very trust and relationships that allow peace to exist.
‘And so I believe what I can say is that unequivocally the majority, the vast majority of the American people, do not want to see these relationships frayed and they are committed to our partnerships and our relationships and our allies.’
Ocasio-Cortez’s message echoed that of Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who expressed her own concerns about Trump’s threats at the conference.
The Trump administration has made acquiring control of Greenland a central tenet of his second term.
The president argues that Greenland provides the United States with a strategic location to stop Russia and China from taking over strategic positioning in the Arctic region, where they have already flexed their geopolitical might in recent years as the melting polar ice provides greater access to shipping lanes and natural resources.
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