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What happened: Russian state media and pro-Kremlin accounts are advancing the baseless claim that the United States following the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro deployed cargo planes to Venezuela in order to seize the country’s $3 billion gold reserves.
Context: On Jan. 3, the U.S. captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and transported them to New York City to stand trial on drug and narco-terrorism charges. At a press conference the same day, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said, “This is about the safety, security, freedom and prosperity of the American people.”
Critics of the Trump administration argued that Maduro’s capture was motivated by a desire to take control of Venezuelan oil and other natural resources, including gold.
A closer look: Amid these accusations, anti-West social media users began claiming that the U.S. had deployed C-17 transport aircraft to Venezuela to seize the country’s gold reserves. As evidence, some users cited a video of what appears to be a military aircraft flying over a city.
The claim apparently originated on the X account of Russian state-owned outlet RT,...
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