Take a look at this shift.
Nicolas Maduro, the ousted Venezuelan leader, was recently photographed in jail giving a peace sign while wearing a $40 Casio watch — a stark contrast to the lavish $40,000 luxury Swiss watches he favored while in power.
The slimmer Maduro was seen with what looked like a G-Shock in newly released images from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn. It’s a well-known watch available at the jail’s commissary for about $40.30, according to records from the Bureau of Prisons.
But then again, Maduro has always been accustomed to more lavish options.
In December 2024, he was spotted donning a limited-edition $85,000 Hublot watch, as documented by Watches of Espionage.
He had also been seen flaunting a different $40,000 Swiss watch earlier that same year at a summit, reportedly a gift from the famous Argentinian soccer star Diego Maradona, who was a noted supporter.
Though Maduro has been observed wearing more modest timepieces like Citizens, his penchant for the extravagant doesn’t seem to have faded.
On January 3, US Special Forces captured him and his wife, Cilia Flores, at their extensively protected residence in Caracas during a nighttime raid authorized by President Trump.
They were brought to New York, facing charges regarding their involvement with drug cartels in smuggling thousands of tons of cocaine into the US from 1999 to 2025. They have both entered not guilty pleas.
Last month, it was confirmed by both prosecutors and Maduro’s defense that his trial is scheduled to commence in June 2027.
Following his arrest, Maduro claimed he was broke and argued that the Venezuelan government should cover the costs of his legal defense. However, the Trump administration announced last year that it had frozen approximately $700 million in assets belonging to the former dictator, including mansions, luxury cars, aircraft, and jewelry.
Some of these assets included properties like a mansion in the Dominican Republic, a horse farm, and a luxury residence in Florida.
Long-standing critics have alleged that Maduro’s regime perpetuated a patronage system that allowed the elites to enjoy a high standard of living while the nation as a whole faced declining quality of life and rampant inflation.
