MAGA influencer Steve Bannon lashed out at President Donald Trump's Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) after agents treated Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro like a "rock star" and a "fraternity" brother."
January 5, 2026

MAGA influencer Steve Bannon lashed out at President Donald Trump's Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) after agents treated Venezuelan Dictator Nicolas Maduro like a "rock star" and a "fraternity" brother."

During his Monday broadcast, Bannon appeared frustrated with the way Maduro was treated after he was abducted to New York City.

"Here's what I don't get with, it was a law enforcement action," he explained. "But, DEA, this was a law enforcement to serve a warrant to basically arrest the guy and bringing you back here in the United States."

"But once he got to New York, I mean, there are a number of pictures of him with DEA agents, they're kind of treating him like a rock star," Bannon continued. "It looks like 20 or 30 agents with their phones up, taking, you know, taking memorial videos for the family. There's a couple of photos where he's doing thumbs up."

"You know, having been in the, had the pleasure of being a guest of the federal government, the Bureau of Prisons, that's not had roles. They're not sitting there giving you changes of garb. You get the prison sweats, and then you get your prison uniform."

Bannon also compared the treatment to prisoners at Guantanamo Bay Detention Center.

"There's no photos. There's no, you know, thumbs up," he remarked. "The DEA officers did not do that. They did not make it very evident that this guy was a prisoner. I mean, he's wishing people, you know, happy New Year. He's giving thumbs up. They're taking photos with him like it's a fraternity."

Real America's Voice correspondent speculated that the agents were "sympathetic to him or empathetic."

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