The Nike tracksuit worn by Nicolas Maduro in a photo shared on social media by US President Donald Trump has surged in popularity since the Venezuelan President's capture at the weekend.
Trump posted the image on Saturday, showing Maduro blindfolded and handcuffed, dressed in a grey Nike tracksuit aboard the USS Iwo Jima.
Online searches for “Nike Tech Fleece” spiked within hours, reaching a "peak popularity" value of 100 on Google Trends by Monday, meaning it was searched more than at any other point within that period. Some retailers in the US also reported selling out of the item.
Nike Tech was mentioned in more than 5,000 posts a day on X, between January 3 and January 5, according to a PeakMetrics data quoted by Business Insider, up from the roughly 325 posts a day it averaged from November 1 to December 31.
Nike describes the joggers as offering “polished warmth and comfort made from premium, low-bulk fleece", adding that the tall cuffs are designed to “let you show off your kicks”.
The "Maduro tracksuit", as some have called it, retails for $140 in the US, where Nike's website has also been flooded with hundreds of tongue-in-cheek reviews. “Great fit, perfect for helicopter rides,” one five-star reviewer wrote, while another added: “I love this. It’s really comfortable for long flights.”
The Tech Fleece Joggers are available in a range of colours and sizes for men, women and children. In the UAE, they retail for Dh529.
Nike has also launched several variations of the Tech Fleece as part of its collaboration with British rapper Central Cee.
It's not only Nike that's seeing a windfall. Another US apparel brand, Origin, said its phones "have been ringing off the hook" after a shackled Maduro was snapped wearing one of its hoodies upon landing in New York.
“What I believe happened is they landed in New York. It was cold outside, and they put a hoodie on him," said Origin founder Peter Roberts in a video posted on X.
“He definitely gave two thumbs up, so I think he liked the fabric."
Maduro's serial outfit changes, as well as the quality of some of the images in circulation, have led some to question the authenticity of the Maduro photo shared by Trump, who has previously disseminated AI-generated images. Adding to the uncertainty were other false and misleading images posted on social media soon afterwards.
In common with other news organisations, The National ran the photo through an AI detector and found the results to be inconclusive.
Reuters said the image the US President posted appears to be taken from a printed photograph, as white edging can be seen around the image.
The New York Times put out a lengthy explainer on how it evaluated the handout photos that circulated after Maduro's capture, saying "we cannot necessarily verify their authenticity".
Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores are accused by the US of overseeing a cocaine-trafficking network that partnered with violent groups including Mexican cartels, Colombian guerrillas and Venezuelan crime syndicates.
According to the New York federal court indictment, they abused "positions of public trust and corrupted once-legitimate institutions to import tonnes of cocaine into the United States”.
The pair made a court appearance on Monday and pleaded not guilty. Speaking in Spanish, Maduro told the judge he had been “kidnapped” from his home in Caracas.
