What happens next for Venezuela after Maduro’s arrest?
USA TODAY White House correspondent Francesca Chambers takes a closer look at what’s next for Venezuela after the U.S. capture of Nicolas Maduro.
Hours after the early morning U.S. attack on Venezuela and the capture of Nicolas Maduro, a photo of the Venezuelan leader blindfolded on a boat was posted by President Donald Trump on the social media platform Truth Social.
The photo has since circulated online, not only for Maduro’s modest appearance but also for his outfit, a gray Nike Tex sweatsuit. Nike Tech fleeces, jackets, pants, and sweatsuits have garnered cultural criticism in recent months. Social media trends are prompting young men to ditch their outerwear styles in exchange for quarter zips and the sophistication that comes with clothing.
Maduro’s costume has sparked memes and social media videos, while the detention of the country’s leader and attacks on the country have drawn mixed reactions from Venezuelans and people around the world.
Nike technology is ‘out’ on viral style trends
In November 2025, a viral TikTok video by user Jason Ghimafi declared that young men who want to be respected and feel good about themselves should wear quarter zips instead of Nike Tech sweaters. The Quarter Zip video, in which Zimafi and his friend Richard Miner wear the sweater and pass matcha drinks, has been viewed nearly 30 million times as of December 15th.
“We’re not about Nike technology. We’re not about coffee. Here it’s straight quarter zips and matcha,” says Zimafi. “He (the minor) was talking about wearing Nike technology to go out. I said to him, ‘What are you doing? You upgraded in your life. Now you wear glasses. Now you wear quarter zips.’
The video sparked a movement in which men wearing their best quarter-zips gathered to socialize while drinking matcha and slamming Nike technology. That ethos toward clothing is now reflected in reactions to Maduro’s clothing in photographs of him.
The internet reacts to President Maduro’s outfit
According to Google Trends, searches for the term “Nike Tech” spiked on Google on the morning of Saturday, January 3rd, following President Trump’s post on Truth Social.
On TikTok and Instagram, many posts containing photos of President Maduro during photo shoots are accompanied by comments criticizing the leader’s attire, such as “Why did my brother wear Nike technology?” and “My brother couldn’t get the latest version of the quarter zip.”
Other posts also referenced the leader’s attire, leading some to believe that Mr. Maduro was intentionally dressed in that attire. In one TikTok video, he said the outfit meant “I just want to be a meme.”
“If he was wearing a quarter zip, he would still be OK. He would still be doing his job. But he wasn’t,” TikTok user @brooklyngabby said in a video that had more than 16,000 likes as of Sunday afternoon, Jan. 4. “He was caught slacking off, he was wearing Nike Tech, he wasn’t wearing a quarter zip sweater.”
Kate Perez covers national trends and breaking news for USA TODAY. You can reach her at kperez@usatodayco.com or on Twitter @katecperez_.
