These are the types of stories that make you wonder what some in our once-vaunted Fourth Estate are smoking.
The New York Times included ousted Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro on its midyear list of the most stylish people of 2026 before quickly removing the entry after a backlash coming from people with common sense.
The decision centered on the viral image of Maduro wearing a Nike tracksuit during his January capture by U.S. forces and transport to New York, according to reporting that emerged this week. Sure, he may have been a brutal dictator who violated the rights of countless numbers of people, but at least he knows how to dress, right?
The New York Times Styles Desk placed Maduro on “The 39-ish Most Stylish People of 2026, So Far,” a roundup published in early July that mixed celebrities and public figures. The paper connected his inclusion to the popular online reaction to photos showing him in gray Nike sweats while blindfolded, wearing soundproof headphones and handcuffed during the journey after his seizure.
The Times had earlier covered how that tracksuit image turned into a meme, and the list entry pointed readers to that prior Styles story about the Nike gear Maduro wore when U.S. Special Forces took him into custody, according to Page Six.
Other names on the list included Justin Bieber, John Travolta, Amy Poehler, Olympian Eileen Gu, former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Bad Bunny, according to the same reports. Unfortunately, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un didn’t make the list.
The New York Times issued an update after the inclusion drew criticism. The paper added a note at the bottom of the article that read: “This article has been updated to remove an entry on Nicolás Maduro.” The note continued: “Read our Styles story about how an image of him in a tracksuit became a meme.”
A Bad Bunny fan account on X had highlighted the original lineup, stating: “Bad Bunny and Nicolas Maduro were the only Latin Americans featured on The New York Times list of the world’s most stylish personalities of 2026.”
Bad Bunny and Nicolas Maduro were the only Latin Americans featured on The New York Times list of the world's most stylish personalities of 2026. pic.twitter.com/Vo0xbIKwcx
— Access Bad Bunny (@AccessBadBunny) July 8, 2026
U.S. forces captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a predawn raid on their compound in Caracas on Jan. 3, 2026. Delta Force operators arrived by helicopter after months of intelligence work by the CIA, which had an asset providing details on Maduro’s movements and patterns.
More than 150 U.S. military aircraft flew from 20 locations to support the mission, known as Operation Absolute Resolve. President Donald Trump watched a live feed from Mar-a-Lago and later described the commandos as having “bum-rushed” the couple after they were pulled from their bedroom.
Maduro and Flores were brought to New York to face federal charges involving conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States, narco-terrorism and weapons offenses. They pleaded not guilty.
At his January arraignment, Maduro said: “I am not guilty. I am a decent man, the constitutional president of my country.” He has also referred to himself as a “prisoner of war.”
U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein on Wednesday set the trial to begin June 1, 2027. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for November 17 to address motions. Maduro, 63, and Flores remain held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center.
Anti-war protesters held signs reading “Free President Maduro” and called the proceedings a sham trial.
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