Venezuelan protests erupt in Mexico City and Brooklyn

Venezuelan expatriates in Mexico City and protesters in Brooklyn rallied amid widespread, unverified reports of a U.S. military operation in Venezuela that purportedly removed President Nicolás Maduro.

In Mexico City, demonstrators marched waving Venezuelan flags and carrying signs demanding “freedom,” celebrating social media accounts that claimed U.S. forces had seized Maduro and flown him to the United States. The online narratives said Maduro was being held in a New York detention center pending U.S. drug charges and that Washington intended to assume control of Venezuela. Organizers and participants invoked past diaspora protests against the Maduro government, but authorities and major news organizations had not confirmed any change of government in Caracas; Venezuelan state institutions continued to function under officials who labeled the reported detentions a kidnapping.

Simultaneously, left-wing and anti-war protesters gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, where Maduro was reported to be held. Demonstrators chanted slogans opposing U.S. intervention and oil-driven conflicts, and speakers called the operation illegal and a violation of Venezuelan sovereignty. Some U.S. lawmakers and critics demanded clearer plans and legal justification, questioning whether briefings had fully explained the actions and urging diplomatic solutions and adherence to international law.

The claims that Maduro had been ousted or transported to the United States remained unverified by U.S. government agencies, Venezuelan authorities or established international media. Fact-checkers and analysts warned that social-media-fueled reports, and diaspora celebrations inspired by them, do not constitute confirmation of a transfer of power. Observers noted that any genuine capture of a sitting head of state would prompt immediate, widespread official statements and global media coverage—none of which had been produced at the time.

Maduro has faced U.S. legal action since a 2020 indictment on charges including narco-terrorism conspiracy, which he denies. While many Western governments oppose his rule, the disputed reports and ensuing protests highlighted deep global divisions over intervention, sovereignty and the use of force. The episode underscored how rapidly unverified information can mobilize communities abroad and intensify diplomatic tensions, prompting calls for reliance on verified announcements from official sources and major news outlets before accepting dramatic claims as fact.