Old election-related footage falsely linked to Maduro’s capture by the US
- Published on January 19, 2026 at 11:11
- 3 min read
- By Tolera FIKRU GEMTA, AFP Ethiopia
Following the seizure of President Nicolás Maduro by US forces in January 2026, Venezuelans in various cities around the world celebrated his ouster. However, some of the clips shared on social media purportedly showing the jubilant crowds are misleading; one of the videos was filmed in Panama on the day of Venezuela’s July 2024 presidential polls, while another shows a protest against the election results in Caracas the same month.
A post shared on Facebook on January 3, 2026, reads: “BREAKING: Venezuelans celebrate the arrest of socialist president Nicolas Maduro.”
“Freedom Freedom,” reads a Spanish text overlay.
Shared more than 490 times, the post contains a one-minute clip showing a crowd celebrating on a street while carrying Venezuelan flags.
Similar claims were shared with a different clip on the same day, like this Facebook post, reading: “Venezuelans celebrate their new freedom.”
The post contains a 30-second clip showing a large crowd of people marching along a street.
Venezuelans celebrate
Maduro was seized and taken to the United States on January 3, 2026, along with his wife, Cilia Flores. He was charged with drug trafficking and weapons violations, to which he pleaded not guilty (archived here).
Following Maduro’s arrest, thousands of Venezuelans in the capitals of Chile, Mexico, Argentina, and in Miami, celebrated the deposed leader’s ouster by US forces (archived here).
However, the videos shared on social media do not show Venezuelans celebrating Maduro's capture.
Panama video
AFP Fact Check used InVID-WeVerify to conduct reverse image searches on keyframes from the first video.
The results led to a video originally shared on Instagram on July 28, 2024, the day of Venezuela’s last presidential election.
The post contains a description in Spanish which translates to: “Free Venezuela! This is how the Venezuelan people living in Panama celebrate,” suggesting the video was captured in Panama.
Using Google Maps Street View, we identified the area where the footage was filmed in Panama as 5508 Samuel Lewis Avenue, the street along which the Venezuelan Embassy in Panama is located.
2024 protests
A similar search for the second video revealed that the footage was also taken in 2024, during a protest against Venezuela’s presidential election results.
The footage was originally shared on X on July 30, 2024, with a description in Spanish which translates to: “| URGENT: The streets of Venezuela are overflowing to protest against Nicolás Maduro's fraud” (archived here).
At the time, protesters had taken to the streets of Caracas as opposition leaders disputed the outcome, which saw Maduro secure another term in office (archived here).
Using Google Maps, we identified the twin Tecoteca building and the surrounding greenery seen in the footage on the street in Caracas where the protesters were marching.
AFP Fact Check has debunked other claims related to Maduro’s arrest in Spanish here and here.
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