Venezuelans Troll Maduro in US Prison with Memes, AI Deepfakes Flood Social Media

• Venezuelans who fled to the US are sending letters with memes to former dictator Nicolas Maduro in prison.
• Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured in Caracas on January 3, 2026, and face federal charges in the US.
• They pleaded not guilty in Manhattan federal court and Maduro is held at Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) in Brooklyn, New York.
• Social media was inundated with AI-generated images and deepfakes depicting Maduro's arrest and aftermath, causing confusion.
• Fact-checking organizations like NewsGuard highlighted the spread of misleading AI content alongside verified images.

Why It Matters: Venezuelans use humor to protest Maduro's detention, while AI deepfakes complicate factual reporting.