A Fake Image and the Fable that Destroyed Hugo Chávez’s Mausoleum- Fact Check

A wave of misinformation swept across social media after Nicolas Maduro’s capture, with viral posts claiming the US demolished Hugo Chavez’s mausoleum. Our investigation reveals the truth: doctored photos from 2013 and unrelated footage combined to create a completely false narrative that deceived thousands.

On 3 January 2026, Venezuela was targeted by a United States airstrike, and the president, Nicolas Maduro Moros, and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured by the US special forces. Maduro and his wife were presented in the federal court of New York, where he pleaded “not guilty” to the narco-terrorism charges against him. The incident triggered a chain of mis/disinformation, including AI-generated content and old unrelated visuals, allegedly linking it to the recent US military action. Among them was the serious case of a US airstrike destroying the former president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez’s mausoleum. A photo showing the mausoleum in rubble and a video showing the airstrike allegedly targeting it took flight on social media; however, the photo is digitally altered, and the video shows the airstrike targeting a completely different structure located in Venezuela, thus confirming that the Mausoleum is unharmed.
Mario Nawfal, a Lebanese-Australian entrepreneur, business influencer, podcast host, and political commentator, shared a photo on January 5 on X (formerly Twitter), allegedly showing the mausoleum before and after the US airstrike. The caption of the post reads, “ INSANE BEFORE/AFTER SHOTS OF CHÁVEZ’S MAUSOLEUM TORCHED IN U.S. RAID ON MADURO Hugo Chavez’s iconic Cuartel de la Montaña mausoleum in Caracas, all decked out with that giant ‘4F’ emblem overlooking colorful slums. Then the aftermath, gutted by flames and rubble from a U.S. military strike during the Jan 3 Maduro capture op. The site, Chavez’s final resting spot and a regime shrine, was obliterated by Trump’s forces.”

As of January 7, the post garnered 97,800 views, 878 likes, and 146 reposts. Reacting to the post, a user responded,”Not the win you think this is. Attacking civilians, cultural heritage is a war crime, making the US even more despised by those sharing humanity in the world.” While another user pointed out that the image is fake.

We analysed the image and found that it is an edited version of a real image.

Additionally, we analysed the claim and found no credible media reports or any official briefing corroborating it. We also performed a reverse image search and found that the original image dates back to March 11, 2013. A comparison of both images revealed several similarities, clarifying that the viral photo is digitally altered.

A video also recently gained popularity on the internet, allegedly depicting the airstrike aimed at the mausoleum. On January 3, an X account, War Monitor, shared a video with the caption, ”The US struck the 4F barracks, which houses the Hugo Chavez museum and mausoleum,” suggesting that the airstrike demolished the structure.

None of the credible media reports about the US military action in Venezuela pointed towards the destruction of the mausoleum.

We performed a keyword search using the keyword “Mountain Barracks 4F”, and found an X post shared on January 3, indicating that Hugo Chavez’s mausoleum is unharmed, and the structure targeted is the Cagigal Naval Observatory.

Subsequently, we compared the keyframes of the viral video with the keyframes of a YouTube video dated July 2, 2018, and found numerous similarities, suggesting that the structure is Cagigal Naval Observatory.

The analysis revealed that an old and edited image and a recent video were falsely attributed to the make-believe destruction of the mausoleum of the former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez by the US airstrike that struck Venezuela on January 3.