A post circulating on social media claims that Venezuela's Supreme Court of Justice has dismissed 48 criminal judges and imposed a travel ban on these officials for "irregularities, extortion and complicity". However, as of 21 August 2026, there is no official statement, resolution, ruling, Official Gazette, or institutional document confirming this claim.
The message began spreading on platforms such as Instagram, TikTok and Facebook, even identified as "unofficial" information. A TikTok account posted on 16 August an image with the text "Attention! #Unofficial. Supreme Court dismisses 48 criminal judges and they are banned from leaving the country", reaching over 132,000 views. The same user shared a similar post on 17 August that surpassed 166,000 views.
Cocuyo Chequea reviewed the Supreme Court of Justice website, media outlets, and the social media accounts of the court's president Caryslia Beatriz Rodríguez and found no document supporting the dismissal of 48 judges nor a resolution specifying the judicial districts or disciplinary proceedings that would have motivated their alleged removals. There is also no list with the names of those dismissed or a court decision confirming the travel ban.
In contrast, on 17 August the National Bar Association of Venezuela held a press conference in which its spokesman Noé Mujica formally demanded the resignation or dismissal of judges, magistrates and prosecutors, arguing that they were appointed arbitrarily without the competitive examinations provided for in the Constitution.
The proliferation of misleading content about the Supreme Court has previously included false narratives about court decisions and its officials, as information fact-checkers note.
