The United States carried out an early-morning military strike in Venezuela on Saturday, January 3, confirming the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Maduro was then flown to the US, landing at Stewart Air National Guard Base in New York under heavy military guard.
(Also read: 150 planes, 30 minutes: How the US captured Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro in his ‘fortress’)
Soon after the operation, US President Donald Trump shared an image on his social media platform, Truth Social, showing a blindfolded and handcuffed Maduro aboard a ship en route to American territory. The photograph quickly spread online, drawing global attention not only because of the dramatic arrest, but also because of what the Venezuelan leader was wearing.
Nicolas Maduro’s Nike outfit goes viral
Maduro was dressed in a grey Nike Tech fleece tracksuit, a detail that immediately caught the internet’s eye. As governments issued statements and analysts weighed in on the geopolitical fallout, social media users zoomed in on the outfit, turning the tracksuit into an unlikely talking point.
The Nike Tech look soon went viral, triggering a surge in interest and sales. Several sizes of the Nike Tech Men’s Fleece Windrunner jacket, priced at $140, sold out on the US website within hours, particularly in the dark grey colour seen in the viral image.
{{/usCountry}}The Nike Tech look soon went viral, triggering a surge in interest and sales. Several sizes of the Nike Tech Men’s Fleece Windrunner jacket, priced at $140, sold out on the US website within hours, particularly in the dark grey colour seen in the viral image.
{{/usCountry}}The jacket is made of recycled polyester and organic cotton fibers, according to the Nike website.
“Maduro Nike” trends on Google
Google Trends data shows that interest in search queries like “Maduro Nike” began to spike around January 3 and peaked on January 4. The maximum number of queries came from New York, where Maduro was flown in after his capture in Venezuela.
Related search queries included “Nike Tech”, “Maduro Tech Fleece” and “Nicolas Maduro Nike”.