No, Obama did not criticize Venezuelans on CNN | Fact check

A Sept. 1 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) claims a former U.S. president criticized Venezuelans.
“Says Barac (sic) Obama, in CNN interview: ‘The Venezuelan people have the government they deserve,'” the post reads in part. “‘The fight for freedom is not peaceful, it’s a fight!'”
A similar post was also shared on shared on X, formerly Twitter.
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The supposed quote is fabricated, according to CNN. There is no credible evidence former President Barack Obama made such a statement about Venezuelans, and he didn’t mention Venezuela in his last CNN interview in 2023.
The Facebook post claims Obama discussed Venezuelans in a CNN interview. However, the last time Obama was seen in an interview on CNN was on June 22, 2023, with journalist Christiane Amanpour, a USA TODAY review found. The transcript of the interview shows Obama did not mention Venezuela or Venezuelans.
The interview mainly covered the U.S. election but also included a discussion about the future of democracy and international relations.
There are no credible reports of Obama criticizing Venezuelans, as the post claims.
“This Facebook post is completely fabricated,” CNN spokesperson Bridget Leininger told USA TODAY.
On March 9, 2015, Obama signed an executive order regarding threats posed to U.S. national security and foreign policy by unrest in Venezuela, including human rights violations and corruption. Obama’s administration was concerned about the Venezuelan government’s efforts to intimidate its political opponents. Even then, Obama did not criticize Venezuelans.
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Venezuelans have been fleeing their country due to widespread corruption and rampant inflation, which has rendered it nearly impossible for many to meet their basic needs. More than 7.7 million Venezuelans have left the country since 2014, marking the most significant exodus in Latin America’s recent history, according to the United Nations UNHCR refugee agency.
The Venezuelan foreign-born population in the U.S. grew from 75,000 in 2000 to 490,000 in 2021, an increase of 554%, according according to the Pew Research Center.
In July, Venezuelan authorities declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner of the country’s presidential election, but the U.S. recognized opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the candidate who received the most votes.
The Atlanta-based Carter Center, which monitors elections around the world, said Venezuela’s elections “cannot be considered democratic.”
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
Newtral also debunked the claim.
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