REUTERS/Marco Bello
President Donald Trump is facing new scrutiny after sharing a video that Venezuela’s communications minister has branded as fake and “generated by AI.” The clip, which Trump posted on Truth Social, purportedly shows a U.S. military airstrike on a Venezuelan boat allegedly transporting drugs.
According to Trump, the strike killed 11 suspected members of the Tren de Aragua gang, which the U.S. officially designated a terrorist group earlier this year. He announced the operation during a White House briefing on Tuesday—his first official public appearance in a week amid renewed speculation over his health.
Alongside the video, Trump issued his trademark warning: “Please let this serve as notice to anybody even thinking about bringing drugs into the United States of America. BEWARE! Thank you for your attention to this matter!!!!!!!!!!!”
However, Venezuelan communications minister Freddy Nanez dismissed the footage as a fabrication. “The video shows a ship being attacked and then exploding in a way that looks like a simplified, almost cartoonish animation, rather than a realistic depiction of an explosion,” Nanez wrote on social media.
He argued that the water appeared “stylized and unnatural,” pointing to “motion artifacts and a lack of realistic detail” typical of AI-generated content. The video was also reposted by several top Trump administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Reuters reported that it found no immediate evidence of manipulation but added that “thorough verification is an ongoing process.” While not addressing the AI accusations directly, John Feeley, a former U.S. ambassador to Panama with extensive experience in anti-narcotics operations, suggested the video did not align with standard protocol.
“Everything is done to preserve life,” Feeley told The Wall Street Journal. “What we don’t do is just shoot up boats like Netflix likes to pretend. We can shoot in self-defense, but we rarely do that because most narcos just give up.” The Pentagon declined to comment on the footage, referring questions to the White House, which has yet to respond.
In a separate twist, Trump himself dismissed another viral video showing objects being tossed from a White House window as “probably AI-generated.” He insisted the windows were “heavily armored and bullet-proofed” and cannot be opened—a statement that directly contradicted the White House’s explanation that the video showed a contractor conducting routine maintenance.
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