Zohran Mamdani, the current mayor of New York, consistently avoided using the word “dictators” when referring to Miguel Díaz-Canel and Nicolás Maduro during an interview given in September 2025, while he was still a candidate for mayor.
The exchange took place on the podcast 'The Moment', hosted by journalist Jorge Ramos and his daughter Paola Ramos. In that conversation, Ramos directly asked Mamdani if he viewed the rulers of Cuba and Venezuela as dictators.
The then-candidate avoided answering directly: "I haven't thought much about Miguel Díaz-Canel, to be honest with you", he said first.
And regarding Maduro, he added: “I believe he has done many terrible things, his government is one of repression, there’s no doubt about that… but I simply don’t think about them that often.”
In the entire interview, Mamdani avoided using the word "dictator", even when Ramos insisted that he clarify whether he recognized those regimes as such.
During the dialogue, the current mayor explained that his vision of 'democratic socialism' “has nothing to do with the repression experienced by Cubans or Venezuelans,” but rather with “ensuring that every New Yorker can live a dignified life.” In this regard, he defended policies such as affordable housing, free public transportation, and universal childcare.
Mamdani also acknowledged that many Latino immigrants in New York "get scared" when they hear the word 'socialist', because "they arrived fleeing regimes that used that name to justify repression."
Although the statements date back to before his election, they are now resurfacing strongly among Cuban and Venezuelan communities in New York, who are questioning his ambiguity in not explicitly condemning two of the most repressive governments in the hemisphere.
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