In the early morning of Jan. 3, 2026, news broke of an overnight American military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. His capture was preceded by a military strike in Caracas, Venezuela's capital and largest city. The Trump administration took Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, to a New York City courthouse and charged them with operating a "narco-terrorism conspiracy."
Since Maduro's capture, social media has been rife with rumors and speculation surrounding the initial attack, reactions in Venezuela and abroad, and Maduro himself. These include claims about where some Democrats stood on Maduro and his capture before the operation, as well as a rumor that Maduro put a hit on U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Videos and images generated by artificial intelligence tools have also fooled many thousands of people on everything from supposed celebrations in Venezuelan streets to footage of Maduro being captured.
We've investigated these and other claims surrounding Maduro's capture in the days following the operation:
