On 03 January 2026, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were detained by US forces in Caracas and taken to the United States to face federal charges, including alleged narco‑terrorism and drug‑trafficking offences. On 05 January 2026, both pleaded not guilty in a New York federal court. The Venezuelan government condemned the operation as a violation of its sovereignty, while interim authorities in Caracas have sought their release (here, here, here, and here).
Amid this, a video is being shared on social media with the claim that it shows people in Venezuela celebrating after the US military detained President Nicolás Maduro. Let’s verify the claim made in the post in this article.
Claim: The video shows people in Venezuela celebrating after the US military detained President Nicolás Maduro.
Fact: The video does not show celebrations in Venezuela following President Nicolás Maduro’s detention by US forces in January 2026. The footage, recorded on 30 July 2024 along Avenida Francisco de Miranda in Caracas, depicts protests against alleged electoral fraud after Maduro’s re‑election. However, several media outlets have reported that Maduro’s ouster sparked celebrations among Venezuelans in South Florida. Hence, the claim made in the post is MISLEADING.
Upon reviewing the viral video, we found that it is a compilation of two separate clips. To verify this, we conducted a reverse image search of keyframes from the video, which led us to the same footage uploaded on the Instagram handle of Venezuelan politician Tomás Guanipa on 31 July 2024. In his post, he shared both clips and stated that he had joined citizens demanding that the National Electoral Council (CNE) release polling station–wise election results. He emphasised that election officials, poll workers, security personnel, and witnesses were aware of the actual outcomes at individual polling stations.
Additionally, we found several other social media posts featuring the first part of the clip (here, here) from the same period that confirm that the video was recorded on Avenida Francisco de Miranda in Caracas on 30 July 2024, around 3:00 pm, and shows widespread protests against alleged electoral fraud, not celebrations after Maduro’s detention in 2026.
Taking clues from these social media posts, we used relevant keywords and found multiple media reports (here, here, and here) reporting this incident. According to these reports, following Nicolás Maduro’s re-election for a third consecutive term on 28 July 2024, widespread protests broke out across Venezuela, including along Avenida Francisco de Miranda in Caracas. Thousands of citizens participated, alleging electoral fraud and expressing support for opposition candidates. Maduro assumed office for his new term on 29 July 2024, while Venezuelan Defence Minister Vladimir Padrino López described the demonstrations on 30 July 2024 as an attempted coup aimed at serving US interests.
It is worth noting that several media outlets have reported that President Maduro’s ouster sparked celebrations among Venezuelans in South Florida (here, here, and here).
To sum up, a 2024 Venezuela protest video is being shared as showing Venezuelans celebrating after President Nicolás Maduro’s detention.
