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Türkiye's main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Ozgur Ozel on Tuesday denounced an artificial intelligence–generated image targeting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying any attempt to threaten Türkiye’s leadership or citizens would face unified opposition.
“Anyone who wants to take not just this country’s president but even one of its citizens will find us standing against them,” Ozel said.
The remarks came after an AI-generated image circulated on social media depicting Erdogan being arrested by United States soldiers in a fictional scene modeled on images showing the detention of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro following a U.S. military operation.
The image was shared by Failos Kranidiotis, leader of Greece’s right-wing New Right (Nea Dexia) party, who posted the image with the caption “Next.”
The post drew widespread backlash in Türkiye amid heightened sensitivity following the U.S. operation that led to Maduro’s capture and transfer to the United States.
Speaking at the first CHP parliamentary group meeting of 2026, Ozel also strongly criticized the U.S. operation against Venezuela.
“The Trump administration, disregarding international law and the United Nations Charter, went unilaterally into another country and carried out a military intervention,” Ozel said.
“While Maduro was sleeping in his bedroom, he was detained along with his wife, mistreated, dragged, packaged up, and abducted, then taken to the United States,” he added. “A country’s honor and dignity were trampled on.”
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Jan. 3 that a U.S. military operation resulted in the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, saying Washington would temporarily assert control over Venezuela, with U.S. troops if necessary.
Maduro and Flores are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. They appeared before U.S. Judge Alvin Hellerstein in New York on Monday and pleaded not guilty to federal charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations.
The AI-generated image targeting Erdogan has fueled debate in Türkiye over political rhetoric, misinformation and the use of artificial intelligence in cross-border political messaging.
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