In 2013, Call of Duty: Ghosts, the tenth installment (with the series now at its 22nd iteration) of the first-person action war video game Call of Duty, was released. The game’s narrative featured La Federación—a fictional alliance of South American countries with Caracas as its capital—as a military superpower that becomes the primary enemy of the United States. This narrative choice sparked considerable controversy in Venezuela, where Nicolás Maduro, recently in power, interpreted the game as associating the country with a global military threat and symbolically positioning it as an antagonist.
Some theorize that the Call of Duty saga participates in the theory of predictive programming—the supposed practice of introducing ideas or narratives into cultural products to normalize or psychologically prepare the population for future events. However, it may be more useful to apply Occam’s razor: given Activision’s propensity for blending reality and fiction, it was only a matter of time before one of its games appeared to “predict” a future military or war event.
While no controversies have matched the reaction to Call of Duty: Ghosts in Venezuela, other installments of the saga (such as Modern Warfare, Black Ops, or Warzone) have generated controversy in other countries or geopolitical contexts. This phenomenon extends beyond Call of Duty to games like Battlefield, Medal of Honor, and Rainbow Six, many of which adopt a clearly promilitar tone and, in many cases, collaborate with former special forces members.
America’s Army is a notable exception, a video game developed directly by the U.S. Army as a communication and recruitment tool. Similar themes appear in cinema, with films like Top Gun, 13 Hours, Black Hawk Down, and American Sniper, or even the Delta Force films starring Chuck Norris—the elite unit that, in fact, was responsible for capturing Maduro.
Whether Maduro surrendered covertly or this was the most brilliant military operation in U.S. history remains to be seen. If the latter, it aligns with the image of strength the United States seeks to project globally through its soft power. Details from the games mentioned closely mirror events in Caracas: localized attacks with few casualties, elite forces infiltrating hostile territory undetected, and surgical extraction operations. “We took Maduro out of a heavily guarded military fortress in the heart of Caracas,” Donald Trump declared on Saturday. It is likely a first-person video of the operation will emerge, as this visual conception of conflict has been ingrained in the minds of younger generations—anyone under 40 knows what it means to “play Call of Duty.”
Frequently Asked Questions
What was the initial controversy surrounding Call of Duty: Ghosts?
The game featured a fictional alliance of South American countries, La Federación, with Caracas as its capital, as the primary enemy of the United States. Nicolás Maduro interpreted this as associating Venezuela with a global military threat.
Are other video games also associated with military themes?
Yes, games like Battlefield, Medal of Honor, Rainbow Six, and America’s Army, as well as numerous films, often adopt a promilitar tone and sometimes collaborate with former military personnel.
What did Donald Trump state regarding the capture of Maduro?
Donald Trump declared, “We took Maduro out of a heavily guarded military fortress in the heart of Caracas.”
Given the prevalence of these narratives in popular culture, what role do entertainment and media play in shaping perceptions of international conflict?
