Video shows election protest in 2024, not Venezuelans celebrating Maduro's capture
- Published on January 9, 2026 at 09:49
- 2 min read
- By AFP Middle East & North Africa
- Translation and adaptation AFP Indonesia
A day after US forces seized Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in a sweeping military operation, an old video of huge crowds in Caracas resurfaced in social media posts falsely claiming it showed celebrations in the South American nation's capital. The video in fact shows a rally to support the country's opposition following Maduro's disputed presidential election victory in July 2024.
"The people across Venezuela are celebrating the arrest of the communist narco-dictator Maduro by America, and they are finally free," reads part of the Indonesian-language caption of a Facebook video shared on January 4, 2026.
"Don't let anyone say that Trump did not do the right thing."
The video shows a top-down view of streets filled with people and several vehicles slowly making their way through the crowd.
The same footage was also shared in similar posts on Facebook and TikTok after a US military operation to remove Maduro from power and assert Washington's control over the oil-rich South American nation (archived link).
Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were taken to the United States to face trial on drug trafficking and other charges; both pleaded not guilty in a New York court on January 6 (archived link).
On the same day, thousands of people marched through Caracas in support of Maduro as his former deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, was sworn in as interim president.
While thousands of Venezuelans abroad reportedly celebrated the strongman's ouster, the video circulating on social media predates the US operation by more than a year (archived link).
A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the falsely shared video led to corresponding footage shared by Argentinian media outlets El Tribuno and Infobae (archived here and here).
The Infobae video was shared on its verified Facebook page on July 31, 2024, alongside a caption that states it shows a large protest in Caracas after Maduro's "electoral fraud".
Thousands of Venezuelans gathered on July 30, 2024 in a peaceful show of support for the opposition, a day after 12 people died and hundreds were arrested during protests against Maduro's disputed presidential election victory (archived link).
Independent polls had predicted retired diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia would win by a wide margin, and there were mounting international calls for the Maduro-aligned National Electoral Council to release a detailed vote breakdown to back its awarding of the election to him.
The July 30, 2024 rally was attended by Gonzalez Urrutia and Maria Corina Machado, the popular opposition leader blocked from the ballot by Maduro-aligned courts.
An AFP photo of the demonstration shows the opposition leaders greeting supporters from a truck outside the United Nations headquarters in Caracas.
The vehicle also matches one seen in the circulating video.
AFP has debunked other misinformation related to the US operation in Venezuela.
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