Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro has sparked a frenzy online after touching down in New York following his capture by US troops in a dramatic pre-dawn raid on his Caracas home.
The embattled leader, 63, has been arrested, renditioned, and flown more than 2,000 miles to American soil since Saturday. But it was not the serious allegations hanging over him that set tongues wagging – instead, it was his bizarre choice of words and questionable outfit.
Maduro was filmed arriving in New York just hours after he and his wife were seized, with images and footage quickly flooding social media. Users wasted no time piling in on the disgraced president, mocking both his appearance and his odd behaviour in the video.
In the now-viral clip, shared by the White House Rapid Response account on X, Maduro can be seen being perp walked through what is believed to be DEA headquarters in Manhattan. Looking dazed, the handcuffed leader can be seen being escorted down a corridor before he made a statement to the gaggle of US officials around him.
As he is led away, he can be heard saying: “Good night. Happy New Year.” The strange sent social media into overdrive, with many questioning the comment itself and his dishevelled demeanour. One user joked: “Poor guy has jet lag – thinks it’s still New Year!” Another added a reference to the carpet in the footage: “They really rolled out the blue carpet.” A third quipped: “For a second I thought he was wearing Mickey Mouse ears.” Another kept with the Disney theme, asking: “Did they tell him he’s not going to Disney?”
Others zeroed in on Maduro’s multiple outfit changes during his journey from Venezuela to the US. One person wrote: “He sure changes his clothes a lot. Weird.” Another added: “Socks and slides? Oof.” A third asked: “How many outfits was Maduro allowed to bring?”
Maduro landed at a US military base late on Saturday under heavy guard, before being shuttled between an aircraft and two helicopters in New York. He was later flown to a Brooklyn detention centre, reportedly the same facility that once housed rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs and disgraced crypto boss Sam Bankman-Fried.
The viral footage of his first exchange with officers on American soil comes as the former Venezuelan president prepares for his first US court appearance in the coming days. Prosecutors are expected to unveil a bombshell list of charges, ranging from large-scale drug trafficking to illegal arms dealing.
According to documents posted online by US Attorney General Pam Bondi, Maduro will face charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices. His wife and four others face similar charges.
