OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
11:34 AM – Tuesday, February 17, 2026
U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez drew widespread ridicule after she incorrectly stated that Venezuela is “below the equator” while criticizing the Trump administration’s foreign policy during an appearance connected to the recent Munich Security Conference.
Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who reportedly majored in international relations at Boston University, made the remark on Sunday during a panel at the Technical University of Berlin, where she was discussing U.S. actions toward former Venezuelan socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Venezuela is located entirely north of the equator, not “below.”
“He canceled elections. He was an anti-democratic leader,” Ocasio-Cortez said, describing the elections that took place under the Maduro regime, widely believed to be rigged in favor of Maduro after the dictator refused several audits.
“[However] That doesn’t mean that we can kidnap a head of state and engage in acts of war just because the nation is below the equator,” the left-wing congresswoman continued, referring to last month’s overnight capture of the dictator and his wife.
Conservatives swiftly capitalized on the remark, portraying AOC as both overly self-assured and demonstrably misinformed, and suggesting the mistake reflected poorly on the caliber of international understanding among American elected officials.
While the most vocal backlash has come from conservative commentators and Republican leaders, several Democrat-aligned strategists and insiders have expressed concern as well, primarily regarding her preparation for the global stage as a potential 2028 presidential contender.
“Whoever convinced AOC that she had successfully completed her tutoring and was now ready to give book reports about foreign policy in public really should look for another line of work. Unless the goal was to sabotage her. In which case: kudos for a job well done,” journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote after the gaffe hit headlines.
“It was a beauty pageant to show that she had some chops about international issues, and she showed a complete lack of chops about international issues,” said New York Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf. “She’s not ready for prime time on the international stage.”
Sheinkopf also added that “she’s now given the opposition tons of ammunition to destroy her” in any presidential run.
“I think giving AOC a slot may go down in history as one of the bigger mistakes she’s ever made if she wants to be president,” political analyst Mark Halperin chimed in. “It takes a major screwup for the New York Times to put in their story about AOC that she had, I think they said it was a ‘stumble’ or something. It had to be a really bad stumble.”
Additionally, online users pointed out that the lefty representative purposely pronounced “Venezuela” and “Maduro” with a clear accent, despite having an American accent herself.
“Pronouncing ‘Venezuela’ and ‘Maduro’ in an accent she definitely doesn’t have is among the many accidentally funny things AOC does while desperately trying to come off as a serious person,” said an online user.
Ocasio-Cortez’s high-profile trip to Germany, including her appearances at the Munich Security Conference, had been widely viewed as an opportunity to strengthen her foreign-policy credentials — potentially positioning her for a Senate run or a 2028 presidential bid.
However, the geography gaffe — along with other on-stage stumbles, like her hesitation on Taiwan — has continued to draw significant mockery and criticism, with observers noting it likely undermined those ambitions rather than advancing them.
When asked whether the United States “would and should” commit troops to defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, AOC hesitated noticeably.
“I think that … this is such a … You know, I think that … this is a … this is of course a … a very long standing … policy of the united states,” she said in response to the question. “And I think what we are hoping for is that we want to make sure we never get to that point. And we want to make sure that we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation and for that question to even arise.”
Nonetheless, despite the backlash, the congresswoman’s supporters have since come out in her defense.
“All I see on my timeline is a bunch of Republicans and legacy media reporters parsing every quote and comment from AOC in Germany, trying to mock them for incoherence or inaccuracy,” wrote left-wing pundit Mehdi Hasan, CEO of Zeteo. “Meanwhile a ranting demented old man who can’t string sentences together, stay awake, or identify Germany on a map sits in the Oval Office.”
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