Shortly afterward, a rumor circulated online that Immigration and Customs Enforcement mistakenly sent Maduro back to Venezuela. For example, one Facebook user posted a screenshot (archived) of an article with a headline reading: "ICE Accidentally Sends Maduro Back to Venezuela."
(Facebook)
Other iterations of the rumor appeared elsewhere on Facebook, Instagram and X.
The screenshot in the Facebook post originated from an article on a satirical news website and was not a factual accounting of real-life events. As such, this claim originated as satire.
The Hard Times, an online outlet that describes its output as satirical in nature, published the article on Jan. 3. The story read:
In a stunning instance of miscommunication between departments, ICE agents have deported Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro back to Venezuela just hours after he was abducted by the DEA.
"ICE is simply doing its job and keeping America safe from world leaders," said a defensive Kristi Noem. "I don't know how the liberal media is trying to spin this, but Maduro is a bad hombre. He is a dangerous man, has known ties to drug cartels, and has absolutely no legal right to be captured in the United States. Adios, buster!"
The move has been met with strong criticism from the rest of Trump's cabinet, most vocally from RFK Jr., who reportedly had high hopes that Maduro could "Hook it up with some Molly."
This is a breaking story, and we'll have more as it develops.
According to the website's "About" page (archived):
The Hard Times is a very real punk news site that you should not question. Just absorb the information as truth and move on. The historic satire site was founded in December 1976. It's made by a group of punk and hardcore kids from all the different sub-genres of the DIY hardcore scene. Any resemblance to actual persons or band names is coincidental.
Maduro was held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York. He appeared in the Southern District of New York federal court on Jan. 5 and pleaded not guilty.
That same day, Getty Images published photos showing him and his wife disembarking a helicopter in Manhattan surrounded by federal agents. According to the photographers at the scene, an armored car transported them to the courthouse.
Snopes has reported on numerous rumors about Venezuela, including Trump's mostly false claim that the South American country "illegally took" U.S. oil. We also looked into whether U.S. President Joe Biden's administration put a $25 million bounty on Maduro.