It’s a bird! It’s an airplane! Isn’t that… Superman?
No, it’s Super Mustache, the comic alter ego of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. We are here to save the South American country from crisis.
“Super Mustache,” which has been airing on Venezuelan state television since 2021, is just part of the country’s propaganda push as U.S. warships gather near the Venezuelan coast and President Donald Trump considers sending in troops to oust Maduro.
In a September episode of “Super Mustache,” which aired shortly after President Trump launched a campaign of airstrikes against suspected drug smuggling ships off the coast of Venezuela, the comic superhero ditched his usual costume for a military uniform, wielded a sheathed sword, and declared that Venezuela had no “warmongering culture.”
But despite the Super Mustache’s new look, the Venezuelan government has been sending mixed messages since tensions with the United States escalated, urging its citizens to prepare for action while simultaneously insisting that everything is fine.
The dissonance between the severity of the Caribbean crisis and the regime’s message is visible on the streets of Caracas. Unlike previous national campaigns, the CNN team in Venezuela has not seen any signs, banners, murals or graffiti calling for support for the regime’s war strongholds in the capital, even in areas considered government strongholds.
Venezuelan researcher and journalist Andres Cañizares said that before August, Maduro was often seen in closed spaces, but since tensions with the United States began to rise, he has been making speeches and appearing in public almost every day, often surrounded by key security personnel.
President Maduro has not accepted the task of demonstrating Venezuela’s military power in the face of President Trump’s threats. Instead, he portrayed himself as a peace negotiator, singing John Lennon’s song “Imagine” at a public event and urging President Trump to come to the table for face-to-face talks. Walking through the crowd at a Nov. 13 rally, President Maduro told CNN’s Stefano Pozzebong that the United States should unite with Venezuela for peace in the Americas.
Cañizares believes that the Maduro government’s communication strategy has gone through various stages. Initially, tensions with the United States were downplayed, but as the U.S. military presence increased in the Caribbean, the discourse shifted to a “more threatening, more retaliatory tone.”
President Maduro’s counterpart in Venezuela’s propaganda machine is Diosdado Cabello, interior minister and host of one of the most popular talk shows on state television, “Con el Mazo Dando” (Spanish for “hit with a club”). In a typical four-hour episode, Cabello wanders around attacking opposition politicians, telling jokes, and promoting the government’s positions.
The most important of these positions is that U.S. actions in the Caribbean have nothing to do with drugs, despite the Trump administration’s claims.
“There is no tension here between Venezuela and the United States. Here there is aggression by the United States against Venezuela,” Cabello declared on last week’s episode. “And that invasion has nothing to do with drugs, terrorism or criminal organizations. It has to do with controlling Venezuela’s natural resources.”
In each episode, the interior minister reads out criticism of the Maduro government, usually from a Republican politician in the United States, and responds with a recording of the late president Hugo Chávez emboldening the United States to try to invade Venezuela.
Javier Corrales, a political scientist who frequently writes about Venezuelan politics, told CNN that Cabello has long cultivated an aggressive reputation as a veteran member of the regime.
“He’s a bully,” Corrales said. “There’s one aspect of Cabello that other autocracies have recognized: You need someone who not only praises the president, but also slams the opposition. And Cabello is great.”
Venezuela’s military has posted numerous videos on social media in recent weeks showing soldiers preparing for war, usually accompanied by dramatic music. The footage shows troops conducting target practice, anti-tank fortifications in Caracas and militia members posing with weapons.
But Maduro and Cabello share a difference in approach: an unwillingness to criticize President Trump too harshly. Both men have a lot to say about Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Mr. Cabello said Mr. Rubio, whom the Interior Secretary often calls a “crazy Cuban,” intends to lead a reluctant Mr. Trump into declaring war on Venezuela.
“This push for regime change in Venezuela is not even about serving the interests of Trump or MAGA, but rather the interests of Rubio and the Cuban-American Mafia,” Cabello announced to a live studio audience on last week’s episode.
Mr. Corrales described Mr. Rubio as perhaps the most prominent critic of the Latin American left in the U.S. government and the perfect foil for the Maduro government. The secretary’s Cuban ancestry and Floridian background are also a factor for Cabello, who contends that Rubio is trying to please Miami’s anti-communist Cuban exile voters.
Cañizares told CNN that while Trump may be criticized, Rubio is a useful “foreign enemy” to the administration’s most loyal supporters.
Mr. Rubio is “presented as a direct enemy of the revolution,” Mr. Cañizares said. “This tactic seeks to sow division in U.S. domestic politics and reinforce the idea of a personalized foreign enemy that helps unite the Chavismo base.”
Even after President Trump ordered an attack on a suspected drug smuggling ship off the coast of Venezuela in September, Cabello claimed on his show on September 3 that Rubio was “leading Trump to a massacre because he is trying to destroy Trump’s MAGA base and promote himself as the new hawk in the Republican Party.”
CNN has contacted the U.S. State Department regarding Cabello’s claims.
Cabello often talks about preparing for all scenarios, including the possibility of military conflict, but he sometimes downplays President Trump’s announced actions against Venezuela. Shortly after President Trump publicly authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in the country, Cabello derided as preposterous the idea that the agency had been inactive in Venezuela.
“Yes,[the CIA]is officially authorized to act,” Cabello said sarcastically. “We had never operated here before.”
Herein lies the dilemma for Venezuela’s leaders. It is about mobilizing support against a foreign enemy while avoiding panic in a country under siege. If something even worse happens, will Super Mustache draw his sword?
