Malaysians worry about being ‘next Venezuela' after US embassy's cryptic post

Malaysians are joking about fearing they could be next Venezuela after the United States (U.S.) embassy in Kuala Lumpur posted a stunning satellite image of the country.

Social media platforms erupted with jokes targeting the current U.S. administration after the U.S. mission in Malaysia shared a 2016 image taken from the International Space Station giving a breathtaking view of the country.

The image showed lightning flaring through the clouds above Malaysia and the U.S. embassy’s account captioned it: “Malaysia, you’ve never looked more electric. Looking back at this iconic 2016 shot from the International Space Station. Those bright pops of white aren’t city lights—they’re massive lightning strikes firing off inside a thunderstorm system.”

Netizens shared humorous takes referring to the U.S. operation in Venezuela which resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and the U.S. President Donald Trump said that U.S. companies would drill oil from the Caribbean country and sell it.

Taking to the comment section of the U.S. embassy’s Facebook post, one user wrote, “We don’t have cities. We all live in the trees and we don’t have oil.”

Another chimed in, "Hey, please tell your president we don't have Oil.” A third user wrote, “Just to clarify, Malaysia has Redland, not Greenland. No crude oil here—just an abundance of palm oil and thunderstorms.”

This comes amid President Trump’s push to acquire Greenland, currently part of the Kingdom of Denmark, which he says is essential for U.S. national security.