THIS is the baffling moment Venezuelan despot Nicolas Maduro belts out “Imagine” by John Lenon in a desperate peace bid to Donald Trump.
The autocrat’s cringey rendition came amid spiralling fears of all-out war between the US and Venezuela.
In the bizarre footage, tyrannical Maduro is seen addressing a crowd as he speaks on the looming threat of a US-backed coup against his regime.
But just moments later, the communist leader starts serenading his supporters with a shoddy performance of “Imagine” – before easing into a karaoke-style lip sync.
Maduro’s attempt at singing the anti-war anthem comes just days after Washington announced a military campaign to wipe out Venezuelan drug runners.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth announced this week that the operation would target “narco-terrorists” in the Western Hemisphere.
During his address on Saturday, Maduro also slammed Trump’s “irresponsible” military drills in Trinidad and Tobago planned for Sunday.
He also accused the US president of pursuing a “criminal war”.
US officials say Southern Spear will aim to dismantle the cartel-militia networks that Washington argues sustain Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro’s grip on power.
CBS News on Wednesday cited multiple sources as saying senior military officials had presented Trump with updated options for potential operations in Venezuela, including strikes on land.
Sources told the network that no final decision has been made, but the planning is real, active and accelerating.
Outside the briefing room, the hardware is already in place.
The USS Gerald Ford, America’s largest and most advanced carrier, has shifted into US Southern Command’s area of responsibility.
It joins destroyers, warplanes, special operations teams and F-35s already forward-positioned in a flotilla meant for war.
Washington has also been busy flexing its firepower as American forces have already hit at least 21 alleged narco-trafficking vessels in two months.
The strikes killed more than 80 people across the Caribbean and eastern Pacific.
Two survivors were repatriated, and one was released for lack of evidence.
Senator Lindsay Graham said Trump is “deadly serious” about stopping Venezuela from “continuing to poison Americans with illegal drugs”.
He also added that Maduro’s days are “numbered”.
Graham wrote on X: “Trump also believes Maduro is an illegitimate leader whose days are numbered.
“I agree with President Trump’s assessment of the situation in Venezuela. I do not consider Maduro a legitimate leader but rather, a drug trafficker who has been indicted in US courts.”
Caracas, meanwhile, is scrambling.
Venezuela’s military launched its largest drill in years, with 200,000 troops deployed nationwide, as the US Navy edged closer to its shores.
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino accused Washington of carrying out extrajudicial killings at sea.
“They are murdering defenseless people… executing them without due process,” he said on state TV.
Dictator Maduro is painting the US posture as a prelude to regime change.
Padrino warned that any US assault would meet a “community united to defend this nation, to the death.”
Colombia’s left-wing president Gustavo Petro went further – halting intelligence sharing with the US as long as the boat strikes continue, calling them illegal and harmful to human rights.
