Well, the title is partially misleading, because for the purposes of this story, Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro isn’t even in Venezuela. While his people remain starving in the streets, dying from preventable diseases due to a lack of medical supplies and fleeing the country for their lives, Maduro was in Istanbul being served steaks. And they weren’t just any slabs of beef in any old restaurant, either. He was dining in one of the most expensive eateries in the world and being served by a famous chef. (NY Post)

Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro feasted on pricey steaks prepared by star chef “Salt Bae” — sparking outrage Tuesday in the hunger-stricken South American nation.

A now-viral video posted Monday shows Maduro chowing down on hunks of red meat — flamboyantly sliced and sprinkled with salt by the Instagram-famous chef — at the upscale Nusr-Et steakhouse in Istanbul, Turkey, where cuts of steak go for hundreds of dollars a pop.

Another clip shows him casually puffing a cigar at the restaurant, alongside First Lady Cilia Flore.

But critics in Venezuela — where food shortages have caused tens of thousands of people to go hungry — are smoking-mad over their leader’s flashy feast.

Thanks to the wonders of Instagram, here’s the video which has blown up in his home country.

View this post on Instagram

Caiu na rede e repercute indignação. Enquanto venezuelanos passam fome, o presidente Nicolás Maduro foi ao churrasco no restaurante do famoso chef turco Nusret Gökçe, 35, conhecido com Salt Bae, em Istambul, na Turquia, onde uma refeição chega a custar até 1 mil dólares. É uma sensação gastronômica mundial. O chef, que tem mais de 15 milhões de seguidores no Instagram, costuma postar vídeos e fotos preparando carnes cheio de caras, bocas e sensualidade. Após postar o presidente venezuelano, em poucos mais de uma hora foram mais de 1 mil comentários de indignação. O chef, então, apagou os posts. Maduro passou por Istambul na volta de uma visita a China, onde foi tentar novos acordos econômicos e linhas de financiamento para seu 'governo'. Para se ter ideia da situação de fome na Venezuela, relatório do próprio governo revelou que mais de 60% da população acorda com fome, por não ter dinheiro para comprar comida; cerca de 1/4 come menos de duas refeições por dia; cerca 87% vivem em situação de pobreza. Mais de 2 milhões de pessoas abandonaram o país em busca de trabalho e comida. Muitos deles no Brasil. #maduro #venezuela #churrasco #saltbae #istambul #turquia #revistabzzz #portaldaabelhinha

A post shared by RevistaBzzz (@revistabzzz) on Sep 18, 2018 at 9:49am PDT

Much like Marco Rubio, I’ve never heard of this famous chef “Salt Bae” but he has little to be proud of.

I don’t know who this weirdo #Saltbae is, but the guy he is so proud to host is not the President of #Venezuela. He is actually the overweight dictator of a nation where 30% of the people eat only once a day & infants are suffering from malnutrition. https://t.co/sSNPK9cAAx

— Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 18, 2018

I did learn one thing about Salt Bae this week. He has a restaurant in Manhattan, as well as Miami and other locations. I wonder how many progressive New Yorkers have dined there and lined the pockets of someone who entertains a monster in this fashion.

And let’s make no mistake here. This story is only one of many, but it truly defines Maduro as a monster. This is something that could have come straight out of the tales of Robin Hood and King John. The tyrant dines on the finest victuals while his people are literally starving to death, forced to hunt for rabbits, rats and escaped zoo animals to feed themselves. They can’t even get potable water in Caracas, even at the city’s primary hospital. Yet Maduro and his wife are living like royalty. This is the end result of socialism wherever it spreads. All of those “equals” have to turn over control to somebody to run things and they inevitably run it into the ground.

And how did they wind up in Istanbul? Because Maduro is a close buddy with Recep Tayyip Erdogan these days. The two dictators have much in common and see eye to eye on many things. And both were supposedly our allies at one point in time. If the people of Venezuela and the sane members of their military can’t figure out a way to get rid of Maduro, then it’s difficult to see any hope for them. In the meantime, let’s check in on this Chef Salt Bae. I wonder who has been frequenting his establishments?