Westside Gunn posted a conceptual album cover to his Instagram Story on Sunday, putting his own spin on a photo of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro following his arrest by the U.S. military over the weekend. In Gunn’s edited version, Maduro is shown wearing a large chain, with a Parental Advisory label placed in the bottom right corner. The original photo was first shared by Donald Trump on his Truth Social account, accompanied by the caption, “Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima.”
As the image continued to circulate online, fans quickly filled social media with jokes and commentary. One person on X formerly Twitter suggested that Gunn should name the project “Pray for Venezuela,” a nod to Gunna’s 2020 album Pray for Paris. Another commenter summed up the reaction simply by writing, “Westside Gunn is a marketing genius.”
The U.S. military apprehended Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia, in Venezuela on Saturday. He appeared in a New York City courtroom for the first time on Monday morning, where he entered a not guilty plea to charges including narco terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, and weapons offenses.
“I am the president of Venezuela,” Maduro said through a translator, according to People. “I consider myself a prisoner of war. I was captured at my home in Caracas, Venezuela.” He went on to add, “I am not guilty. I am a decent man. I am still the president of my country.”
When discussing what comes next for Venezuela, Donald Trump said the United States is temporarily taking control. “We’re going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition,” he said during a press conference at Mar a Lago on Saturday, as reported by The Hill.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio later sought to explain the president’s remarks. He said the U.S. does not plan to fully occupy Venezuela, but will instead rely on an oil quarantine targeting sanctioned tankers as leverage. “We continue with that quarantine, and we expect to see that there will be changes, not just in the way the oil industry is run for the benefit of the people, but also so that they stop the drug trafficking,” he said during an appearance on Face the Nation.
