In the early morning of January 3, a specialized unit of the US Army, Delta Force, launched an attack on the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. US President Donald Trump stated that President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were detained and taken to the United States. In this context, a photo has been circulated on social media claiming to show a scene following Maduro’s detention.
The photo shows Maduro in military uniform, handcuffed, and sitting in a chair.
See the posts circulating on Facebook with this claim: here (archive) and here (archive).
See the post circulating on X with the same claim: here (archive).
Additionally, see the post circulating on Threads: here (archive).
Fact-check
The Rumor Scanner team’s investigation found that the circulated photo is not of Nicolas Maduro. In fact, the image was created using digital technology to superimpose Maduro’s face onto a photo of the Kremlin-aligned Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk.
An investigation into this matter found areport published on the international media outlet ‘CNN’ website on April 13, 2022, titled “Zelensky offers Putin detained Russian oligarch in prisoner swap”. Apart from the face of the person in the video featured in that report, all other elements—including the clothing, shoes, chair, background wall and color, and electrical wires on the wall and floor—match the photo circulated in the claim.
The report details that the individual handcuffed and sitting in the chair is Viktor Medvedchuk, the former co-chairman of the Ukrainian political party ‘Opposition Platform for Life’. He fled house arrest in February 2022 following the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Furthermore, news regarding this photo of Viktor Medvedchuk in military uniform and handcuffs was published in several Ukrainian media outlets (1, 2). These reports also mention the same information.
Additionally, at that time, the same photo was circulated on the official Facebook profile and Telegram channel of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The caption of the photo stated: “Special operation carried out thanks to SBU (Security Service of Ukraine)” (translated).
This confirms that the circulated photo is not of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
So, in 2022, a photo of the detained Ukrainian Kremlin-aligned politician Viktor Medvedchuk was digitally manipulated to superimpose the face of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, and it was circulated claiming to show Maduro after his arrest; this was altered.
Sources
- CNN: Zelensky offers Putin detained Russian oligarch in prisoner swap
- Militarnyi: The detained Medvedchuk was disguised in a Ukrainian military uniform
- The Kyiv Independent: Who is Viktor Medvedchuk and why his arrest is a big deal
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Facebook Account
- Volodymyr Zelenskyy: Telegram Channel
- Rumor Scanner Analysis