Grok Advised Trump Before U.S. Capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro
Grok reportedly advised Trump that Venezuelans would welcome Nicolás Maduro’s fall, before the January 3 invasion, as Pentagon use of the AI expands further.
Summary
In December 2025, about one month before the U.S. invaded Venezuela and captured President Nicolás Maduro, Donald Trump reportedly held a secret meeting with Elon Musk and spent hours consulting Grok. The meeting came roughly seven months after Musk left Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency. Trump asked how Venezuelans would respond to Maduro’s capture. Since September, he had ordered strikes on Venezuelan boats he alleged were trafficking drugs, while users had questioned Grok about those strikes and Venezuela’s political climate. Grok described Maduro as a deeply unpopular dictator and predicted many Venezuelans would celebrate his removal.
The U.S. invaded on January 3, and subsequent celebrations reportedly convinced Trump that Grok was ingenious. In June 2026, the Pentagon’s AI chief said the military used Gov Grok to deploy and strike targets during the Iran War. Grok is not the Defense Department’s only model: OpenAI has an agreement, while Anthropic has disputed how its technology may support military intelligence and modern warfare. Earlier in the week of October 1, 2026, the Pentagon selected Musk and Anduril founder Palmer Luckey to co-lead a study of current and potential battlefield uses for advanced technology.
Positives
- Grok’s prediction that Venezuelans would celebrate Maduro’s removal matched celebrations following the January 3 invasion.
- Gov Grok was used to deploy and strike targets during the Iran War, demonstrating operational military adoption by June 2026.
- OpenAI’s separate Defense Department agreement gives the Pentagon access to more than one AI provider.
- Elon Musk and Palmer Luckey will co-lead a Pentagon study of advanced technology’s current and potential battlefield uses.
Risks & concerns
- Trump spent hours consulting Grok during a secret December 2025 meeting about capturing another country’s president.
- U.S. forces invaded Venezuela and captured Nicolás Maduro on January 3 after months of strikes on boats Trump alleged trafficked drugs.
- Gov Grok has moved from political advice into deploying and striking military targets during the Iran War.
- Anthropic remains in a dispute over how its models may be used for military intelligence and modern warfare.