Just days into the new year, Peruvian shamans have already seen one of their annual predictions materialize.
A group of shamans gathered in Peru’s capital, Lima, on Monday for their annual ritual to forecast the fortunes of world leaders—and at least one prophecy has already come true.
The shamans predicted the fall of Nicolás Maduro five days before the Venezuelan president was deposed when he was abducted in a raid ordered by President Donald Trump. They had even foretold that Trump, 79, would be the one to oust Maduro, 63.
“We have asked for Maduro to leave, to retire, for President Donald Trump of the United States to be able to remove him, and we have visualized that next year this will happen,” said shaman Ana María Simeón, according to the Associated Press.
However, the forecast came with a notable asterisk.
“We see Nicolas Maduro defeated. Nicolas Maduro will flee Venezuela. He will not be captured,” said Juan de Dios Garcia, another shaman, Reuters reported.
Maduro never had a chance to flee: U.S. forces extracted the dictator and his wife, Cilia Flores, from his Caracas compound in the middle of the night on Saturday and then transported them to New York City, where they are being held at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center.
Maduro and Flores, who are facing federal charges related to cocaine importation and possession of machine guns and destructive devices, are set to make their first appearance in a federal court on Monday.
Another of the shamans’ predictions does not bode well for Trump.
“The United States should prepare itself because Donald Trump will fall seriously ill,” Garcia proclaimed on Monday.
The prediction that the oldest inaugurated president of the United States will become “seriously ill” comes as he faces questions about his health.
In response to a request for comment about the shamans’ predictions, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Daily Beast at the time: “President Trump remains in excellent overall health,” adding that the president’s “relentless work ethic, unmatched energy, and historic accessibility stand in sharp contrast” to the four years under former President Joe Biden, 83.
Garcia also foretold the end of Russia’s war in Ukraine. “I see that the conflict will end, they will raise the flag of peace,” Garcia predicted.
The shamans’ now-realized prediction about Maduro improves their often mixed record of annual predictions.
While a 2024 prophecy that “a nuclear war” would occur between Israel and Gaza did not come true—instead, a ceasefire was put in place—the shamans correctly predicted that former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori would perish within 12 months. Fujimori, who had been imprisoned for human rights abuses, died at the age of 86 in September 2024.
