In the hours and days after U.S. forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, social media rapidly filled with footage purportedly showing his arrest and transfer to a federal court in New York City.
One such image appeared to show Drug Enforcement Administration officers flanking Maduro while he was in custody. The photo included a "JAN 3 2026" datestamp and appeared grainy with low light.
The picture spread across multiple social media platforms, including Reddit, X, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Threads. On X, the official White House account reposted a post by U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, that included the image.
(X user @chiproytx)
However, this was not an authentic photograph of Maduro in custody. It was fabricated using artificial intelligence software to resemble real, on-the-scene footage. As such, we have rated the image as fake.
How we know the image is fake
Running the photo through Google Gemini's SynthID check, which looks for an embedded AI watermark, revealed that the image was "generated or edited using Google AI," meaning that the tool detected a SynthID watermark.
(Google Gemini)
SynthID is a watermark invisible to the naked eye. It is embedded when an image or video is created or edited with certain Google AI tools. If the watermark is detected, Google says it indicates that "all or part" of the content was created or edited using Google's AI models.
Another sign the image was not real was Maduro and the agents being dressed differently from how they appeared in verified photos of the Venezuelan president in U.S. custody, as seen in Reuters and ABC News articles and in the Getty Images library.
An X user named Ian Weber (@San_live) appeared to first post the picture in question (archived). Weber described (archived) himself as an "economist and AI video art enthusiast." Replying in Spanish to his original post, Weber acknowledged (archived) the image was AI-generated:
(X user @San_live)
Other news media outlets, experts and fact-checking organizations, including the BBC, France24, The Guardian, The New York Times and PolitiFact, also concluded the photo was not real.
Real photos and videos of Maduro exist
Not every picture of Maduro in U.S. custody circulating online was fake. In the days after his capture, several verifiable photos and videos surfaced from clearly attributable sources, including posts from official White House-affiliated social media accounts.
Donald Trump posted one example on Truth Social, his social media platform, captioning the image: "Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima." The photograph showed the Venezuelan president blindfolded, handcuffed and wearing a gray sweatsuit.
(TruthSocial user @realDonaldTrump)
One White House account, Rapid Response 47, posted a 12-second video showing Maduro walking down a hallway flanked by federal agents. The caption read: "Perp walked." As the Venezuelan president passed the camera, he said: "Good night. Happy New Year."
Reuters also published authenticated pictures and a video titled: "Maduro arrives in Manhattan via helicopter for court appearance." The clip's caption stated that a U.S. government helicopter brought the Venezuelan president to Manhattan, New York, and that heavily armed officers escorted him ahead of his court appearance.
Snopes has looked into numerous claims regarding Maduro's capture. For example, we debunked an AI-generated video purportedly showing Venezuelans thanking Trump and celebrating Maduro's seizure. We also examined a satirical rumor that U.S. immigration authorities accidentally sent Maduro back to Venezuela.