Video Showing Venezuelan Citizens Tearing Down Maduro Banner Is Outdated

Misbar investigated the circulating video and found the claim to be misleading; the video is unrelated to recent unrest.

Old Video Shows Venezuelan People Tearing Down President’s Posters

Despite its viral spread during the recent unrest between the U.S. and Venezuela, the video is not recent.

After conducting a reverse image search, Misbar’s team found that the circulating footage dates back several months. An X user first uploaded the video on July 29, 2024, claiming it shows a “Maduro banner torn down at Base Aragua in protest against the July 28 fraud.”

Another page on X also shared the clip, saying it depicts “Venezuelan citizens tearing down a giant banner of socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro.”

Protests Erupt After Maduro Won in Disputed Venezuelan Election

On July 29, 2024, Venezuelans expressed anger after the country’s electoral authority declared President Nicolás Maduro the winner of an election the opposition says was rigged.

Demonstrations spread nationwide, with protesters in the western state of Falcón toppling a statue of former president Hugo Chávez. In Petare, one of Caracas’s poorest neighborhoods, demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans, while masked youths tore down Maduro’s campaign posters from lampposts.

Some protesters moved toward Miraflores Palace, the presidential residence, as security forces deployed heavily across the capital. Police and National Guard units fired tear gas to disperse crowds, and reports also emerged of pro-Maduro paramilitary groups, known as “colectivos,” opening fire on protesters.

U.S. Imposes New Sanctions on Family Members of Venezuela’s President

The U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions on several family members and associates of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

The Treasury unveiled the measures on Friday amid ongoing U.S. military operations off Venezuela’s coast, which reportedly killed more than 100 people. U.S. forces also seized a Venezuelan oil tanker and enforced a naval blockade on vessels entering and leaving Venezuelan ports subject to U.S. sanctions.

The latest sanctions target seven individuals linked to Malpica Flores, Maduro’s nephew, and Panamanian businessman Ramón Carretero. U.S. authorities previously sanctioned both men on December 11, along with six Venezuela-flagged oil tankers and several shipping companies.

NBC News reported that President Donald Trump and his senior advisers refused to rule out open conflict with Venezuela, as Maduro urged his navy to escort oil tankers challenging what U.S. officials describe as the largest American naval deployment in the region in decades.

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