Photos of Nicolás Maduro's capture by U.S. forces are AI-generated
While the White House confirmed a Delta Force operation in Venezuela, many images circulating on social media were digital forgeries
CLAIM: Viral photographs allegedly show Nicolás Maduro being escorted by armed guards at an airfield after his capture by U.S. forces.
BACKGROUND: On the morning of January 3, 2026, President Trump announced that U.S. forces had captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during “Operation Southern Spear.” While the administration confirmed the capture, no official images of the president in custody have been released.
METHOD: We used an AI watermark detection tool to confirm that some of the images were created using Google’s AI tools. We also cross-referenced the image’s visual details — including agency insignia and aircraft type — against verified reports of the operation.
RATING: False. The images are sophisticated AI-generated fabrications.
Briefly after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife had been captured, a picture showing Maduro being held by two agents by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) began circulating online.
The picture quickly went viral. However, there was no immediate evidence that the photo was authentic, and cleaner versions of the same picture were confirmed to contain AI-generated elements.
Other pictures soon followed; slideshows of photos emerged on social media showing Maduro being escorted around by U.S. agents outside an aircraft.
Fake TV news photo shows Maduro with DEA agents
The most widely circulated photo early in the news cycle showed Maduro being escorted by two DEA agents with a small aircraft seen in the background. There was also text in the bottom part of the image, resembling a news ticker on a TV channel, as well as other graphics around the image, making it appear that this was a photograph of a screen.
A photograph of a screen — as opposed to an original image file — makes detecting for AI more difficult. However, another clearer version of the same image was detected via SynthID as being made or manipulated with Google AI software.
The areas of the image where the Google watermark was detected were small — however, the software’s effectiveness can be hampered by the addition of filters and other transformations, which this image appears to have undergone (a date stamp and grainy effect has been added, perhaps in a bid to made it appear more authentic).
SynthID’s detection at all in any part of the image is a strong indication that Google’s AI software was used. It is a Google-made programme that detects embedded watermarks in AI material produced with Google products. With AI-generated images becoming more sophisticated and lifelike, the watermark detection system is more trustworthy than some other detectors, which merely scan the image for inconsistencies and are only able to provide a suggested likelihood of AI use.
More images of Maduro on airfield also AI-generated
A slew of other similar images were also circulating, purporting to show Maduro being paraded around the airfield after his arrest by U.S. forces.
These were higher-resolution, and were clearly designed to look more like the style of a photographer working for the U.S. authorities. For example, this slideshow uploaded to Instagram (archived) featured a number of these pictures with a caption: “More photos of Maduro captured by the US.”
However, we analysed every single one of the photos in that Instagram carousel, and all were easily confirmed to be AI-generated by Google’s SynthID programme. Watermarks were detected with very high confidence in large portions of the images.
Another hint came via the uploader’s profile bio, which describes themselves as a “Professional in artificial intelligence” and a trainer in “how to master AI and After Effects”.
Trump officially releases photo
While no official photos of the operation were forthcoming throughout the morning after the operation, Donald Trump did eventually share one photo of Nicolás Maduro on Truth Social.
The photo showed the Venezuelan president in a grey Nike tracksuit, apparently en route to the U.S. He was also wearing eye shields and ear defenders. The outfit is different to the one seen in the AI-generated images, and other unconfirmed images that showed him on a plane in more formal clothing.
Maduro appears to be flanked in the image by a DEA agent, although it is unclear due to the way the image was cropped. Donald Trump captioned the image: “Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima.”
Detectors like Google’s SynthID have made it easier to detect some AI-generated content. However, the proliferation of highly sophisticated AI-generated material during major breaking news stories is only growing — and has the potential to hamper the media and public’s understanding of world events.
Read more by Eurovision News Spotlight members:
Hoaxes and disinformation about the US attack on Venezuela - VerificaRTVE
This image of Nicolas Maduro being captured and surrounded by DEA agents is fake - RTBF Actus
Fake footage of the attacks on Venezuela: how to recognize what’s real and what’s fake - VRT NWS
SOURCES
Google.com. Google DeepMind. [online] SynthID Detector [Accessed 3 Jan. 2026].
X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: Primeras imágenes de Nicolás Maduro capturado. [Accessed 3 Jan. 2026].
X (formerly Twitter). (2026). Available at: First images of Nicolás Maduro captured [Accessed 3 Jan. 2026].
Instagram. (2017). Ruben Dario on Instagram: ‘Más Fotos de de Maduro capturado por los Estados Unidos. #venezuelalibre 🇻🇪 🇻🇪 🇻🇪 🇻🇪’. [online] Accessed 3 Jan. 2026].
Truth Social. (2026). Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump). [online] Available at: Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima. [Accessed 3 Jan. 2026].
Youtube.com. (2026). Available at: 🔴 URGENTE - EXPLOSIONES EN CARACAS - MODO GUARDIA [Accessed 3 Jan. 2026].
Guarimbadigital.com. (2026). GuarimbaDigital. [online] Available at: Guarimba defendiendo la libertad [Accessed 3 Jan. 2026].
Jacobs, J., Walsh, J., LaPorta, J. and Reals, T. (2026). Available at: U.S. launches military attack on Venezuela, Trump says Maduro captured and flown out of the country. [online] Cbsnews.com. [Accessed 3 Jan. 2026].