As justifications for Donald Trumps invasion of Venezuela proliferate and change, a video of former Fox host Tucker Carlson in which he claims that the U.S. wants Venezuela to legalize marriage for same-sex couples has resurfaced.We can safely discount democracy as a reason for effecting regime change in Venezuela, Carlson said on his podcast, The Tucker Carlson Show, in late 2025. Its possible were mad that he doesnt allow gay marriage. That is a distinct possibility, but no one will say that out loud. Related Tucker Carlson wants to ask Pete Buttigieg very specific questions about gay sex Insights for the LGBTQ+ community Subscribe to our briefing for insights into how politics impacts the LGBTQ+ community and more. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Perhaps one of the reasons that no one is saying that out loud is because Trump himself doesnt support marriage equality, so its unlikely he would have launched an invasion that has already killed 80 people and arrested Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in order to impose it on another nation. Another reason would be that the majority of nations around the world have not legalized marriage equality, and Trump hasnt invaded any of them. Last, while the Trump administration has offered a variety of justifications for the invasion including drugs, oil, an arrest warrant, and human rights marriage has not been mentioned by anyone. Carlson then praised Venezuela for not legalizing marriage equality.Not defending the regime, just sayin, one of the most conservative countries in North or South or Central America, he continued. The U.S.-backed opposition leader who would take Maduros place if he were taken out is, of course, pretty eager to get gay marriage in Venezuela.He was likely referring to Maria Corina Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize recipient who was once a member of the Venezuelan National Assembly. She led the opposition to Maduro and would have run for president in 2024, but the government barred her from running in 2023. She supports marriage equality.So those of you who thought this whole project was globohomo, youre not crazy, actually, Carlson concluded. Globohomo, originally short for global homogenization but often used to refer to gay people, is a rightwing conspiracy theory that states that there is a vast conspiracy to destroy traditional cultures and replace them with a corporate global uniculture, often portrayed as including an LGBTQ+ agenda. The conspiracy theory is also antisemitic. Tucker Carlson believes its a distinct possibility that the U.S. captured Maduro to *checks notes* bring gay marriage to Venezuela. Yes, hes serious. pic.twitter.com/TmrrwWYgTH Nathan Livingstone (MilkBarTV) (@TheMilkBarTV) January 5, 2026The clip resurfaced over the weekend as the Trump administration bombed and invaded Venezuela and arrested Maduro, with Trump saying that the U.S. will be running the Latin American nations government in order to nurse the country back to health before it can return to being self-governing.Anti-LGBTQ+ pundit and Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro criticized Carlsons claims this weekend.People who have in the past, for example, suggested that the only people who would be against Nicols Maduros continued regime are globo homo for example, something Tucker Carlson said, Shapiro said in a reaction video posted to social media. Only globo homo would want Maduro ousted because hes supposedly a social conservative, which is not actually true.Well, I suppose the administration may have to explain to people like Tucker Carlson that in fact it was not globo homo that ousted Nicols Maduro, it was a conservative Republican president. A gutsy president who makes the calls to preserve Americas national security and her foreign interests. Homosexuality is legal in Venezuela, but the countrys constitution bans marriage for same-sex couples. Workplace discrimination against gay and bi people has been banned since 1996. Trans people there do not have the right to update the gender markers on their IDs. Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.