Leonel Moreno, the Venezuelan TikTok troll making a mockery of the US and being slammed by his compatriots: ‘He’s a complete, utter embarrassment and disgrace to my country’

A Venezuelan TikToker who has gone viral with videos of himself telling his followers how to exploit the US as a migrant has been deemed a troll by his countrymen.

Leonel Moreno, who goes by @leitooficial_25, has amassed half a million followers on TikTok with incendiary videos in which he adopts the persona of a stereotypical freeloading immigrant and tells his followers how to exploit America’s social safety net.

In one of his now-viral videos, the Ohio native instructed his followers how to “invade” American homes and invoke squatters’ rights, claiming that under U.S. law “if a house is unoccupied, we can confiscate it’.

Moreno also made headlines in February after demanding that Venezuelans unite to help a 15-year-old migrant accused of shooting a tourist and killing an NYPD officer in Times Square.

The videos have been widely shared as Venezuelan migrants fleeing their country’s collapse become one of the largest nationalities arriving at the US-Mexico border.

Some of his other videos show him begging for money on the street with his daughter

Venezuelans have taken to social media to label him as a troll, accusing him of using their situation to become an influencer while stoking hatred against migrants

Venezuelans have taken to social media to label him as a troll, accusing him of using their situation to become an influencer while spreading hatred against migrants who plan to work for a better life in the US.

“He has gone absolutely viral for all the wrong reasons and is a complete disgrace and disgrace to my home country,” Daniel Laplana wrote on X.

“I have nothing but contempt for the man and his intolerable caricature of a Venezuelan migrant,” said Venezuelan-American Rafael Estruve, chairman of Houston Young Republicans.

However, there were some who claimed that ‘some’ agree with Moreno, suggesting that socialist regimes create people who are dependent on the government.

“I think he represents a part of us,” said one Venezuelan X user. “Like it or not, Cubans are promoted in government programs.”

Others accused Moreno of “provoking anger.” Many Venezuelans believe he is deliberately trying to stoke anger to gain more views and be profitable on TikTok as the US receives record numbers of Venezuelans.

It appears the coverage has helped Moreno increase his follower count. In February, when one of his videos first went viral, he had fewer than 219,000 followers, about half of what he has now.

Other videos show him bragging about using the financial assistance he supposedly receives from the government to help his toddler buy a car.

On Friday, Moreno livestreamed himself sleeping as as many as 270 people watched the static image and sent donations.

One of the comments from his fans read: ‘Make money while you sleep, yah, you’re the best.’

“His charade is a gross mix of incompetence and arrogance on full display, and he is by far one of the absolute worst representations of Venezuelans on a public stage.”

Tomas Lugo, who still lives in Venezuela, said: “He should be deported immediately, and his deportation should go viral.”

On Friday, Moreno livestreamed himself sleeping as as many as 270 people watched the static image and sent donations

Some of his other videos show him begging for money on the street with his daughter. Others show him bragging about using the financial assistance he supposedly receives from the government to help his toddler buy a car.

In several clips, Moreno shows viewers the squalid area under a bridge that he thought would serve as a great living space while he saved to rent a house.

Many of his fans seem to see Moreno as some kind of comedian, and the comments claim he is

Regardless of Moreno’s intentions or actual positions, however, his comments have sparked outrage among Americans already worried about the crisis at the border, largely fueled by Venezuelans fleeing socialism.

One comment on Moreno’s TikTok read: “We Americans are going to vote in November for politicians who will deport you back to Venezuela as soon as possible.”

Another read: ‘I hope they take your baby away and send you back to your country, you’re causing too much trouble.’

Venezuelans represent the world’s largest displacement crisis, with more than 7.7 million people living outside their country – even larger than Ukrainians and Syrians.

It is a rare case of mass migration from a country that is not at war but has experienced one of the most extreme reversals in recent history following the socialist takeover two decades ago.

Venezuela has suffered political, economic and humanitarian crises over the past decade, making food and other necessities unaffordable for those left behind. The vast majority who fled settled in neighboring Latin America, but many have come to the United States in the past three years.