The vanishing of Nicolás Maduro: how the former dictator is being erased from Venezuela
Key takeaways
- A faded mural of Nicolás Maduro in La Guaira, Venezuela, on 3 May 2026.
- The spin-doctored adoration was such that factories churned out plastic action figures exalting Nicolás Maduro as an “indestructible” and “iron-fisted” caped crusader nicknamed “Super Moustache”.
- In a coastal town near Caracas, authorities even branded dustbins, garbage trucks and overpasses with sinister black silhouettes of the autocrat’s stache.
Why this matters: a developing story that could shape the day's news cycle.
A faded mural of Nicolás Maduro in La Guaira, Venezuela, on 3 May 2026. Photograph: Andrea Hernández Briceño/The Guardian View image in fullscreen. A faded mural of Nicolás Maduro in La Guaira, Venezuela, on 3 May 2026. Photograph: Andrea Hernández Briceño/The Guardian Venezuela. The vanishing of Nicolás Maduro: how the former dictator is being erased from Venezuela Billboards are being painted over and former allies seem eager to forget the man they once glorified
Tom Phillips in Caracas Wed 10 Jun 2026 10.00 BSTLast modified on Wed 10 Jun 2026 10.01 BSTSharePrefer the Guardian on GoogleFor years, his bewhiskered face stared down from propaganda billboards glorifying the supposedly revolutionary rule of a dictator who styled himself as “the protector of the people”.
The spin-doctored adoration was such that factories churned out plastic action figures exalting Nicolás Maduro as an “indestructible” and “iron-fisted” caped crusader nicknamed “Super Moustache”.