By Irene León on February 11, 2026
Irene Leon
To say that international communication is the preferred arena for the opposition to the Bolivarian project is not a hypothesis but a fact that can be verified over a timeline of more than two decades, during which communication strategies have acted as a complementary device, and in some cases a central one, in the geopolitical and geo-economic dispute over Venezuela’s destiny.
This is so true that it can be illustrated with the metaphor of the two Venezuelas: the real one, with the successes and contradictions experienced in situ, and, on the other hand, the one produced in international communication laboratories and, more recently, in cognitive warfare laboratories, a strategy of structural damage designed not only to dispute meanings, but also to shape individual and collective minds and behaviors in accordance with the project of corporate and digital capitalism.
One of the tools frequently used for the latter are deepfakes, known as the prototype of profound lies, those “with the ability to convince or cast doubt on even the most skeptical”. With the use of artificial intelligence and its derivatives, such as machine learning, increasingly realistic audiovisual simulations and multimedia content are being assembled to manipulate the truth and position the ultra-false. Moreover, the proliferation of these technological products is considered an advance in the generation of disinformation processes, which are part of the machinery of cognitive warfare.
The most compelling example of its application is evident in the US invasion of Venezuela on January 3, 2026, which was carried out with a tactic of surprise, speed, and great violence, preceded by organized chaos, digital chaos in the airspace, and a monumental process of global disinformation, where there was an unprecedented prominence of deepfakes, mythomania, and communicational fraud, which were used as an inherent element of the military and political onslaught. mythomania, and communicational fraud, which are used as an integral part of the military and political onslaught. Furthermore, the blatant use of these resources by the highest echelons of US power is evident.
Thus, after captivating public opinion with rumors about drug trafficking, which were spread to legitimize the militarization of the Caribbean, the subsequent US bombing of Venezuela, and the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and Congresswoman Cilia Flores, in the current phase, to validate US power and the invasion as a fact, deepfakes are being used as a key resource to fracture Bolivarian power, positioning versions of internal ruptures and betrayals in the highest echelons, especially from the acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, and her entourage.
On the day of the invasion of Venezuela, a photo went viral around the world, falsely proving that President Nicolás Maduro was alive, published on Truth Social by US President Donald Trump. The image shows an imitation of President Maduro, handcuffed and blindfolded, allegedly aboard the USS Iwo Jima. This and five other deepfakes, which circulated widely and without prior verification, according to digital information verifier NewsGuard, obtained 14.1 million views on X and as many on other platforms in less than two days, but after verification: “the five images were fabricated and out of context, and two videos that were also circulated were misrepresented.”
The New York Times expressed so many doubts about the authenticity of these materials, especially the photo of the President on the Iwo Jima, that it only reproduced the message from the original source, i.e., Trump’s post, and not the photo as evidence, noting that this was because: “The Times has reported on Trump’s habit of spreading images generated with artificial intelligence and deepfakes on social media, so we had reason to be skeptical about the authenticity.” Furthermore, there is no tool that can verify images unequivocally, it stated.
In the previous episode, with these technologies and methods, even though all international institutions showed the opposite, the profound lie of the existence of a “Cartel of the Suns,” allegedly led by the Venezuelan president, who was blamed for drug trafficking and even addiction in the northern country. Details about this spread around the world in real time, making daily headlines and multiplying infinitely on digital platforms.
Likewise, US lobbies and authorities promoted condemnations of those allegedly responsible for that fictitious cartel and, contrary to international law, went so far as to put a price on the head of the Venezuelan president, arousing the interest of mercenaries and other thugs. There were even other states and entities that adopted the version of the alleged danger of that cartel to US national security and to the hemisphere, and took measures.
However, the only evidence presented was deepfakes and random, unverified statements from one side: the US president. And, with the combination of these communications and the expansionist project, an international crime was committed: the kidnapping of the head of state of a sovereign country. Of course, it does not depend solely on this, but it was such a real communicational and political ultra-fake that when the US Department of Justice dismissed the existence of the ‘Cartel of the Suns’ and ruled out Maduro’s leadership, the curve of fake sensationalism persisted and the president remains kidnapped in the country of the North.
Another deepfake, coming from the same scenario, was again starred by US President Donald Trump, when in the hours following the bombing of Caracas he stated that: it was a technological, clean and quick operation, which met no resistance and achieved the objective of “extracting Maduro” with ease.
It was a profound lie, broadcast as truth by all digital and conventional media, which influenced outsiders and insiders alike to doubt and even repeat it. Front-page news, digital media, videos, and even memes presented the fictitious surrender of the Bolivarian revolution as truth.
It was a lie so real that when it came to light that the Bolivarians fought for hours, under unequal conditions, and managed to repel the invader to a large extent, and that even US experts, such as Wes Bryant, after viewing real images, stated that “Given the great resistance we see, it could have been an impossible operation in any context, few people paid attention. Even geopolitical specialists, forgetting that communicational and cognitive warfare is also warfare, ended up parroting Trump’s deepfakes.
With this brief account, I want to draw attention to three points:
According to its own sources, in the organized chaos that was decisive on January 3, the United States employed cognitive electronic warfare, temporary deception, and other similar resources. Thus, it is no exaggeration to insist that technological, digital, knowledge, and communication sovereignty are priority issues for cognitive defense, which concerns all fields of society and includes the international sphere.
Thus, the proliferation of the aforementioned deepfakes shows only one of the tactics of a more complex process that has to do with systemic disputes. Therefore, cognitive defense must prioritize the strengthening of independent thinking and ethics, in everything and everywhere.
Finally, the recognition of the non-existence of the ‘Cartel de los Soles’ by the US Department of Justice and the withdrawal of the related indictment not only invalidates the battery of deepfakes that were spread on the subject, but also undermines the illegal kidnapping of the Venezuelan president. so that, in addition to his immediate release, he should be subject to moral reparation, which sets a precedent against the use of communication fraud as a political resource.
Source: Network in Defense of Humanity (REDH) translation Resumen Latinoamericano – English