Two Venezuelan firefighters were arrested after a video went viral in which they mockingly compared the nation's president to a donkey.
The Associated Press reports that the two men created a video in which they mocked President Nicolas Maduro by leading a donkey through their firehouse while the man holding the camera says they are receiving a presidential visit.
“As you can see, he is doing an inspection,” the firefighter says, adding that the donkey approved of the grass outside the building after briefly grazing.
The joke is based on a disparaging nickname that critics of the socialist president use—Maburro. It is a play on the Spanish word for donkey, which is “burro.”
Police arrested firefighters Ricardo Prieto and Carlos Varonen at the firehouse after the video went viral. Each man has at least a decade of service as a firefighter.
Although no charges were announced, lawmakers loyal to Maduro last year passed a law against spreading hate, which carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years.
