Amid all the criminal charges being thrown at the Venezuelan president he has garnered some respect from the fashion corners of the world for being… stylish!?
Ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has become an unlikely fashion icon as a Nike tracksuit sold out – after he was photographed wearing it during his capture.
The socialist strongman leader was seen wearing the Nike Tech fleece tracksuit onboard the warship USS Iwo Jima in a photo shared by Donald Trump on social media.
The iconic photo – which also saw Maduro in handcuffs, wearing ear protectors and a type of blindfold that looked like dark sunglasses – became one of the defining images of the smash and grab operation.
And it sparked a huge surge in searches for the tracksuit, which costs around £200, and it sold out within hours in some sizes. It remains unclear whether the tracksuit was provided by the US forces or if it was already in Maduro’s possession.
The £109.99 Nike Tech fleece and matching £89.99 bottoms, popular among athletes and rappers, have now been dubbed the ‘Maduro fit’.
An AI-generated meme featuring the politician posing in the tracksuit with the Nike slogan ‘Just Do It’ has gone viral, as social media users joked about the outfit.
One wag quipped: “Why is the Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro in a Nike tech like he’s on his way to a football game?”
Another joked: “Nicolas Maduro rocking that casual grey Nike Tech fleece ‘fit while getting captured, you already know that man got 40 women left on read.”
A third chimed in: “Maduro wearing Nike tech fleece suit is the most surprising thing about this whole situation.” Despite his initial stylish outfit, he was later spotted in New York donning an all-black ensemble complete with socks and sliders, before appearing once more in orange overalls.
When it first dropped in 2013, the sleek two-piece was billed as sportswear so posh it could strut down a runway. But fast-forward a decade and the shine has well and truly worn off.
Nike tried to save it in 2023 by using rapper Drake, tennis ace Naomi Osaka and footballer Erling Haaland. But even that star power couldn’t stop the rot and by early 2024, US shops were flogging the gear at knock-down prices.
In the UK, the Tech was even cast as the culprit behind slumping profits at JD Sports, with bosses reportedly stuck with warehouses rammed full of unsold tracksuits, reports the Times.
Maduro was seized by the US’s elite Delta Force in a pre-dawn operation and transported to America over the weekend and appeared in court on Monday alongside his wife Cilia Flores, who was also captured by American troops.
Labelled as a ‘narco-terrorist’ by the US, the couple maintained a defiant stance as they made their appearance in the federal Manhattan courtroom, with Maduro declaring to the court: “I am not guilty, I am the president of my country”.
The arraignment hearing saw the judge outlining the charges: narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, which Cilia Flores is also accused of, among others.
Mr Maduro was clad in an orange shirt layered with a blue one and beige trousers, while Cilia Flores sported similar prison attire and sat two seats away.
The judge clarified his rights and asked for his plea, to which he responded in Spanish: “I am not guilty, I am the president of my country.” He later reiterated his claim of innocence, stating: “I am a decent man. I am still the president of my country”.
In addition to the narco-terrorism conspiracy charge, the indictment includes four other criminal counts: conspiracy to import cocaine; possession of machine guns and destructive devices; and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices.
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