Donald Trump says he’ll flee to Venezuela if he loses the election

Ex-president repeated unsubstantiated claim that Venezuela was sending all of its criminals to the US

Donald Trump hinted that he might flee to Venezuela if he loses the election this November.

The former president made the comment as part of a fear-mongering prediction during his X interview with Elon Musk on Monday.

“If something happens with this election, which would be a horror show, we’ll meet the next time in Venezuela,” Trump said.

He elaborated, explaining that Venezuela — a dictatorship where nearly two dozen people have been killed in crackdowns on political protests — would be far safer than the US if Vice President Kamala Harris wins in 2024.

“We’ll have a meeting and dinner in Venezuela,” Trump said, “Because that’s what’s happening—their crime rate’s coming down and our crime rate’s going through the roof.”

More than 1,200 people, including journalists, opposition supporters, and children, have been arrested in Venezuela as sweeping political arrests have rocked the nation, the UN reports.

Trump took the opportunity to demonize immigration, suggesting that criminals from Venezuela were illegally entering the US.

"Their crime rate is coming down and our crime rate is going through the roof. And it's so simple. And you haven't seen anything yet because these people have come into our country and they're just getting acclimated and they don't know about being politically correct, law enforcement or lack of law enforcement and our police. I have to just end with this. We have great police," he said.

He told Musk that Venezuela had gotten rid of "about 70 per cent of their really bad people," with the suggestion that their "really bad people" had all fled to the US.

"Their jails are about 50 percent, put into the United States. Same with other countries, over 30 percent. Some are at 50 percent. They're all different," he said. "But the bottom line is they're all going to be 100 percent. Why wouldn't you put 100 percent of it?"

As is typical, there is no evidence for anything Trump said.

Roberto Briceño-León, the founder and director of the OVV — the Venezuelan Observatory of Violence — told factcheck.org that there is no evidence that the South American nation is sending its criminals to the US.

"We have no evidence that the Venezuelan government is emptying the prisons or mental hospitals to send them out of the country, whether to the USA or any other country," he said.

He said crime rates were dropping, but not because prisons were being emptied. He said crime was going down because 8 million people have fled the country since 2014 due to worsening economic and living conditions.