Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s YouTube account went offline on Saturday (September 20), sparking controversy after Venezuelan state-run broadcaster Telesur claimed on X that the channel was “eliminated” late Friday night without justification. The account, which had over 200,000 followers, was primarily used to share Maduro’s speeches and clips from his weekly show on state TV.

YouTube’s parent company Google has not yet responded to queries regarding the apparent suspension. According to the platform’s policy, accounts are removed for “repeated violations of community guidelines,” which include publishing misinformation, hate speech, or content that “interferes with democratic processes.”

The removal comes at a time of heightened tensions between Venezuela and the United States, following the deployment of American warships and fighter jets in the southern Caribbean.

While Washington says the deployment is part of an anti-drug trafficking mission, Caracas has denounced it as a violation of sovereignty and a bid to topple Maduro’s government.

In 2020, a US federal court indicted Maduro on charges of conspiring to traffic cocaine into the United States.

More recently, Washington doubled its bounty for his capture to $50 million, with senior officials often referring to him as a cartel leader. Despite ongoing oil sales to the US and deportation cooperation, relations between the two nations have worsened.