Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's Nike Tech Tracksuit Sells out After Capture

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was captured by the U.S. military on Jan. 3, 2025, after President Donald Trump launched a raid on the country. Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Adela Flores de Maduro, were both captured and indicted on narco-terrorism charges, per CBS News.

The indictment was filed back in 2020 over allegations that Maduro collaborated with Colombia to traffic cocaine and weapons to the United States. However, after Trump shared a picture of the leader on Truth Social, Maduro's Nike Tech tracksuit became the topic of conversation.

Trump gloated over the Venezuelan president's capture on Truth Social with the caption, "Nicolas Maduro on board the USS Iwo Jima." The picture featured Maduro wearing a gray Nike Tech tracksuit with a white T-shirt while handcuffed and blindfolded, and the photograph quickly went viral.

Not only did the picture go viral, but the gray Nike Tech track suit also sold out at $140 within hours of the post, per TMZ. The post also received a lot of attention online as folks left comments about the foreign leader and his tracksuit.

According to USA Today, Nike Tech fleeces became part of a trend with young men online that sparked a debate about wearing the brand vs. wearing quarter-zips, and which was more sophisticated. Maduro sporting the Nike Tech tracksuit only created more chatter about the tracksuits, and the memes and comments were abundant.

One X user wrote, "Maduro looks like a man who was on Xmas break and wearing his Nike Tech Fleece for a third straight day. And I get it. And that is my political tweet."

Another user couldn't resist sharing an AI video of Maduro working out in the Nike Tech tracksuit, "OK wait, here is the actual new $NKE Nike tracksuit ad of Maduro."

Another user joked about the Venezuelan leader wearing Nike instead of a quarter-zip fleece. "No one told Maduro that we aren’t wearing Nike Tech anymore? Maybe this wouldn’t have happened if he was a quarter zip," he joked.

"No longer the Nike Tech. Air Maduro," added one.

"The United States of America has successfully carried out a large-scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country,” Trump wrote on social media after Maduro's capture. "This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement. Details to follow. There will be a News Conference today at 11 a.m. at Mar-a-Lago. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J. TRUMP."

Maduro pleaded not guilty in a New York court on Jan. 5, per the Associated Press. "I’m innocent. I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the president of my country," he said. The Venezuelan leader is accused, along with his wife, his son, and three other individuals. They are facing life in prison if convicted.