If you are short on time, we summarize what we know about the supposed elimination of the war bonus:
- The bonus corresponding to April 2026 began to be paid on the 18th through the Patria Platform, with amounts that reached Bs. 63,574 (approximately $132 USD) for retirees.
- The misinformation arises in a climate of political tension after the capture of Nicolás Maduro in January 2026 and the expectation for the salary announcement on May 1.
- Despite maintaining the bonus, unions and guilds demand its elimination so that this money is integrated into the base salary, which remains frozen at Bs. 130 from 2022.
Hoaxes about alleged decisions by the interim government of Delcy Rodríguez have not stopped circulating on social networks since the Chavista ruler assumed power after the capture of Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3, 2026, by the US military.
Expectations about what the political future of the country will be keeps many Venezuelans in suspense and this becomes a breeding ground for the proliferation of misinformation of all kinds, such as hoax about the frozen bank account of the president of the National Assembly Jorge Rodríguezbrother of the president in charge, or the speculations about the alleged asylum of the Minister of the Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello and when it spread that The FBI had raided a property in the state of Miranda of deputy Nicolás Maduro Guerra, son of Maduro.
All of this very viral misinformation has been circulating on the networks hand in hand with the opacity that the Chavista government has generally maintained for years.
The uncertainty over the announcement of the new minimum wage, which will increase as of May 1, 2026, although without details of how much it will be or if it will continue to be made up of bonuses that do not affect the salary tables, has been fuel to generate hoaxes about the salary increase, one of these reached our chatbot La Tía del WhatsAppwhich is also in Telegramstating that the so-called “Economic War Bond” will be eliminated as part of the new policies of the president in charge, but this is fakethis bonus continues to be delivered, although it is unknown if with the announcement that Rodríguez will make on International Workers’ Day, it will be eliminated.
This check is the result of rigorous adherence to our verification methodology, after analysis and contrast with the available evidence and does not represent opinions or value judgments, as established in our Neutrality and Nonpartisanship Policyin which we warn of the limitations to the exercise of journalism in Venezuela.
The misinformation
By entering the misinforming image into search engines Google and Yandexthese did not yield results indicating that this content was circulating on social networks such as Instagram, X or Facebook, so it is likely that the hoax is circulating only on instant messaging applications such as WhatsApp and Telegram.
The misinforming image, which is shown blurred because WhatsApp compresses to save data and speed up sending, thus reducing its resolution and sharpness, especially in the case of screenshots, it points out that the “Economic War Bond” was repealed as part of the “Recovery and Stability Plan.”
The “War Bonus” is repealed immediately. This measure responds to the transition towards a Single and Strengthened Salary model, where national wealth is directly reflected in the salary and social benefits, eliminating the figure of temporary bonuses,” the image indicates.
The war bond was delivered in April
The Telegram channel “Digital Homeland Channel”where it is usually notified about the deposit of the bonuses granted by the Chavista government, reported that the amount corresponding to the Economic War Bonus began to be delivered on April 18, 2026, corresponding to that monthly payment, as you can see here.
The information was also reviewed by the economic news portal Banking and Businesswho indicated that the payment was made through the Patria platform, and the amount granted was Bs. 63,574 or US$ 132.11 at the current exchange rate of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) for April 18, 2026.
Banking and Business specified that the beneficiaries of this bonus are retired people from the public administration. “This bond had an increase of 7.90% in bolivars compared to Marchperiod in which the amount assigned was Bs. 58,919,” it reads.
The media outlet indicated that the bond had an increase of 0.19% in foreign currency compared to the figure received the previous month, which was the equivalent of US$ 131.86.
Official denial
On its social networks, the Noticiero Digital Patria, an official channel where information about the payment and amount of the bonuses is disseminated, the misinforming image was denied, as you can see here.
“Do not echo on social networks the circulation of an alleged elimination of “The Income Bonus Against the Economic War” that the Chief Executive Delcy Rodriguez has not commented on in any local media,” it reads.
On the other hand, the alleged “Recovery and Stability Plan” that would justify the end of the Economic War Bonus is not announced by the Venezuelan interim authorities, which could be confused with the three phrases proposed by the Trump government through the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who They are: stabilization, economic recovery and political transition.
What is War Bonus Economic
The Bonus Against the Economic War is a monthly payment that the Venezuelan government delivers to different social groups. The amount is updated regularly, based on the official rate of the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV), with the aim of helping beneficiaries face rising prices and maintain their purchasing capacity.
The war bonus has no impact on the labor benefits that the working class has achieved for years. The minimum wage in Venezuela remains frozen at 130 bolivars per month since March 2022a value that is equivalent to less than $0.27 dollars at the official exchange rate of this Tuesday, April 21, 2026.
Although the “Minimum Comprehensive Income” or “Indexed” adjusted by the interim government (through these bonds) for March 2026 ranges from $60 to $190, depending on for retirees and pensioners either for public employeesthese are not taken into account for calculations of social benefits, vacations or settlements, therefore, the base salary continues to be the lowest recorded.
Demand of the working class
Since the fall of Nicolás Maduro on January 3, unions and union members have taken to the streets to demand improvements in the minimum wage and the elimination of bonuses such as “economic war” for not affecting workers’ social benefits.
The union has called multiple demonstrations in Caracas, mainly to demand salary improvements. One of the most emblematic and popular events occurred on April 9, 2026which although it did not reach its final destination, the Miraflores Palace, was able to enter the city center, avoiding at least seven police pickets.
For April 22, 2026, the Association of Professors of the Central University of Venezuela (Apucv) called a 24-hour national strike for the entire university sector in the country. The measure will completely paralyze the academic and administrative activities of the country’s public universities.
Workers demand increases that are in line with the basic basket. Article 91 of the Constitution establishes that workers have the right to a sufficient salary that allows them to live with dignity and cover the basic needs for themselves and their family, both material and intellectual.
“The State will guarantee a minimum living wage, which must be adjusted each year taking as a reference, among other factors, the cost of the basic basket,” the Constitution reads.
By March 2026 the basic basket was located at 692.32 dollars, for a family of five members, according to the NGO Documentation and Analysis Center of the Venezuelan Federation of Teachers (Cendas-FVM). The NGO highlighted that in March a Venezuelan minimum wage covered just 0.04% of the cost of the basic family basket, for which more than 2,400 monthly minimum wages are required or just over 4.6 bonuses of $150 that the Government pays each month to State employees.
Misinformation about salaries
This is not the first time that we have detected disinformation chains related to the elimination of bonuses or salary increases, which tend to be very viral due to the importance of the issue in Venezuelan society.
On January 27, 2026, at Cocuyo Chequea we denied an alleged announcement by Donald Trump about a salary increase in Venezuela of 2,000 dollars, as you can see here.
Since April 2025, there has been misinformation about the elimination of bonuses implemented by the national executive. In that month we also verified a false video created with Artificial Intelligence in which it was claimed that Delcy Rodríguez, then vice president of the Maduro government, had eliminated pensions and bonuses for retirees.
In March 2026, misinformation also circulated about the supposed delivery of the women’s bonus by the interim government of Rodríguezbut this was false.
CotejoInfo colleagues also they denied that the Economic War Bonus would rise to $500 per month starting in April.
On May 1, 2026 there will be a salary increase
On April 8, 2026, the interim president announced that on May 1 she would announce a salary increase for Venezuelan workersespecially for those who work in the public sector, ensuring that their figure will depend, to a large extent, on the lifting of US sanctions.
“It will be a responsible salary increase with real financing,” he said. During that speech, Rodríguez also pointed out the constant increase in salaries in previous years. as one of the causes of hyperinflation that the country lived between 2017 and 2021and that would have eroded the purchasing power of the Venezuelan.
Conclusion
After applying our verification methodology We can point out that it is false that the acting president Delcy Rodríguez has eliminated the so-called “Economic War Bonus” as part of the monetary incentive that workers receive monthly. In fact, the bonus was delivered from April 18, 2026, according to official channels.
Although the workers have expressed their rejection of this bonus for not affecting the benefits to the working class, such as the impact on social benefits, this request has not been taken into account by the interim Executive until April 21, 2026. It should be noted that the president reported that on May 1, 2026, she will carry out a “responsible” salary increase, but did not give details of how it will be done or if the bonuses will continue to be used as part of Chavismo’s salary policy. to compensate workers.
Given the redistribution of content with the aim of misinforming, we invite you to consult the WhatsApp auntwhich you can also contact on Telegramto verify the contents before disseminating them.
