Fact File: Maduro’s capture reignites election conspiracy involving ex-Canadian firm

The Jan. 3 capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife during a brazen military raid by the United States stunned the world and left Venezuelans in Canada feeling mixed emotions.

The broader implications of the raid ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump are still playing out, but for some it gave new life to a conspiracy theory involving Maduro, a Canadian-founded electronic voting machine company and the 2020 U.S. presidential election that brought Joe Biden to office.

Here’s a look at some of the claims that made the rounds online.

TRUMP REKINDLES FALSE 2020 ELECTION FRAUD CLAIMS

One day after announcing Maduro’s capture, Trump posted a screenshot to the Truth Social platform that claimed Dominion Voting Systems switched votes from Trump to Biden during the 2020 election.

“Dominion Rigging Systems overthrows governments, including the United States government on Nov. 3, 2020, and most recently in Brazil,” the post reads, referring to the date Americans went to the polls to elect Biden president, as well as the 2022 Brazilian national election.

Trump posted the screenshot in response to a video he shared earlier that day, which claims to show how easily votes could be changed through Dominion’s voting systems.

Several right-wing media figures viewed Trump’s Truth Social posts as a nod to the conspiracy theory that Maduro helped voting machine companies rig the 2020 U.S. election.

“There’s a reason President Trump is flooding the internet with election theft videos now,” the influencer Chad Vivas, known online as @KagDrogo, wrote in an X post. “Maduro is an informant against the CIA for laundering election theft technology like Smartmatic and Dominion through Venezuela.”

Another conservative influencer and lawyer, Rogan O’Handley, also suggested Maduro’s capture would bolster Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was rigged. “Yeah I’d say the dominoes are being lined up,” O’Handley wrote on X.

THE FACTS

Dominion Voting Systems, founded in Toronto in 2002, was at the centre of false 2020 election fraud claims promoted by Trump and others. The company was bought out by an American firm in October and renamed Liberty Vote.

Trump and others launched lawsuits contesting elections in multiple states, but courts dismissed most of them.

Trump faced federal criminal charges for his alleged role in trying to overturn the presidential election, but a Georgia judge dismissed the final case against him in November.

There is no evidence backing Trump’s claims about Dominion voting machines “rigging” votes in the U.S.

Committees that worked on election security as part of the Department of Homeland Security said there was no evidence that any voting system deleted, lost or changed votes.

One Michigan county did initially report an incorrect tally that made it seem like Biden had more votes than Trump, but the Michigan Department of State said human error was to blame, not Dominion’s voting machines.

Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems a US$787.5-million settlement in a defamation lawsuit, after the company alleged Fox media personalities spread lies about its role in the 2020 election.

U.S. television network Newsmax agreed to pay a US$67-million settlement in a similar defamation case.

The claim Trump shared about Dominion’s involvement in the “rigging” of elections in Brazil is false, as Brazil does not use the company’s machines or software in its elections.

FORMER TRUMP LAWYER’S FALSE ELECTION FRAUD CLAIMS RESURFACE

On X, comments made by Trump’s former lawyer Sidney Powell following the 2020 election results received renewed attention after news broke of Maduro’s capture.

“I can hardly wait to put forth all of the evidence we have collected on Dominion, starting with the fact it was created to produce altered voting results in Venezuela for Hugo Chavez,” Powell says in a video clipped from an appearance on Fox Business days after the election.

THE FACTS

There is no evidence to support the conspiracy theory, as Dominion Voting Systems’ history as a Canadian company is well documented.

Dominion sued Powell for defamation; in a motion to dismiss the complaint against her, Powell’s lawyers argued her election conspiracy theories were legally protected speech, writing, “No reasonable person would conclude that the statements were truly statements of fact.”

In 2018, the private U.S. equity firm Staple Street Capital acquired Dominion. While the company did not disclose its financials, CEO John Poulos said the firm owned 75.2 per cent of the company while he, a Canadian citizen, owned 12 per cent.

Another electronic voting machine company, Smartmatic, was founded by Venezuelan engineers in Boca Raton, Fla. Both Smartmatic and Dominion said they have no ties to the Venezuelan government or Chavez, the former Venezuelan president who died in 2013.

“Dominion has never provided machines or software or technology to Venezuela, nor has it ever participated in any elections in Venezuela. It has no ties to the Venezuelan government or Hugo Chavez,” the company said in a legal filing, adding it does not use Smartmatic’s software or machines.

POSTS MAKE MISLEADING CLAIMS ABOUT ELECTRONIC VOTING IN CANADA

An image shared this month on Telegram and Facebook made a similar claim about Dominion being created in Venezuela, supposedly with the help of Cuba.

“The Dominion voting system is used in Canada,” the posts claim, using a photo of former prime minister Justin Trudeau meeting with former Cuban president Fidel Castro.

THE FACTS

While some provincial and municipal elections in Canada have used Dominion’s voting systems, there is no evidence the machines or software have a link to Venezuela or Cuba.

Canada’s federal elections use paper ballots, and Elections Canada said it has never used voting machines or electronic tabulators from Dominion or other companies.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 15, 2026.

Marissa Birnie, The Canadian Press