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By Jack Beresford
Senior Reporter
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The CEO and founder of American training apparel company Origin responded after deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was photographed wearing one of the company’s hoodies.
Maduro was pictured wearing the light-blue garment featuring the Origin logo in black when he arrived in New York City late on Saturday in the custody of DEA agents.
Why It Matters
According to Pete Roberts, company founder and CEO of Origin, there is an "irony" to the sight of Maduro in the Origin hoodie.
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Maduro has been indicted on charges of "narco-terrorism." The Department of Justice defines "narco-terrorism" as situations where traffickers, terrorists, and insurgents allegedly "use funds obtained from drug trafficking to exert military, political, and economic pressure against the countries in which they operate."
Maduro was first indicted on "narco-terrorism" conspiracy charges by the Southern District of New York in March 2020. Documents unsealed on Saturday show Maduro is now facing a further Justice Department indictment on charges of running a "corrupt, illegitimate government" fueled by a drug-trafficking operation that allegedly saw thousands of tons of cocaine smuggled into the U.S. A full breakdown of the charges he is facing can be viewed here.
What To Know
In a video published on the Origin USA Instagram and YouTube channels, Roberts said he saw something symbolic in the image of Maduro wearing something from an all-American manufacturer based in Maine. "The irony in this is that this wave, this logo here on the shirt Maduro is wearing, this is the wave of freedom," he added. "When I say it's the wave of freedom, it's the reclamation of our machines and the reshoring and the restoring of our communities and gaining the knowledge we once had to be makers."
Roberts went into more detail at another point in the video, highlighting a link between the decimation of communities and rise in narcotics use. "I had seen my community gutted over the years and hollowed out and all the manufacturing jobs sent away, sent overseas. And what that left behind was hopelessness," he said. "So what people did is they turned to alcohol and drugs to numb their minds and bodies in the absence of meaningful work. So, when we started Origin and we built this factory in 2012, our mission was to breathe life back into the dream."
What People Are Saying
Roberts said his phone "blew up" over the weekend when he saw images of Maduro in the Origin hoodie. "I had to figure out if this was AI or not, and I decided very quickly it was not."
It is so far unconfirmed as to who put Maduro in the hoodie.
Roberts said an agent probably gave Maduro the hoodie to stay warm in New York City’s plunging winter temperatures. "He landed in New York, and it was very cold outside, and they put a hoodie on him that has a mineral in it for cooling so maybe they wanted him to feel comfortable or a little uncomfortable," Roberts said in the video. "I’m not quite sure, but he definitely gave two thumbs-up, so I think he liked the fabric."
However, Roberts said he also likes to imagine a scenario where a DEA agent slipped the hoodie on Maduro, telling him: "You're going to feel the fabric of freedom on American soil." There is no basis in fact for that, though.
Roberts is not alone in noticing the hoodie.
John Gretton "Jocko" Willink Jr., author, retired United States Navy SEAL officer and Origin co-owner, also shared the image of Maduro in the hoodie on social media. He wrote: "I’m looking forward to meeting the PATRIOT that put this Origin Built By Freedom Hoodie on Maduro and hearing the story…Thanks for your service and Bravo Zulu."
Despite the attention the hoodie is garnering, it is not currently available to purchase.
In a post shared to Origin’s official X account, the company wrote: "Welcome to America. Unfortunately, our "Patriot Blue" RTX shirt won’t be shipping 'till spring. But they are available for Pre-order!"
Newsweek has contacted Origin for comment.
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