By Pascal Ibe
Claim
Social media users shared a video of two men fighting with machetes and claimed it was aa a result of control of drug territory in India.
Verdict
This claim is MISLEADING. Findings show the incident happened in the Dominican Republic in May. According to reports the two unarmed men fought over a woman.
Full Test
Social media users on X, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp posted a video of two black men fighting brutally and claimed it was a result of control of Drug territory in India.
The social media users claimed that these two men are Nigerians.
Social media users shared the video on different platforms with the caption, “Clement Okafor and Kenneth Chukwudi, using cutlass to chop themselves into pieces over control of drug territory in India. Imagine the way Okafor picked up his chopped-off wrist!!!
The 40-second clip shows both men brandishing machetes as they square up to each other outside a petrol station.
The rivals swing their bladed weapons at each other as onlookers scream in shock.
In the video, the larger man appears to chop off the other’s hand before he tumbles to the ground.
Verification
Keyframes from the video were subjected to Google image reverse search, and it was discovered that the video first appeared online on May 14, 2024.
The results of a Google image reverse search further led FACTWATCH to a news report that confirmed the incident occurred in the Dominican Republic.
The report stated that the machete street fight took place between two motorcycle taxi drivers fighting over the love of a woman.
The report said the scenes were filmed in the municipality of Consuelo, San Pedro de Macorís Province, Dominican Republic, on the night of 14 May.
“Kelvin Melquiades Trinidad, 31, eventually went to the hospital with his severed left hand about four hours after the incident.
“However, due to the delay, doctors at the Dr. Salvador B. Gautier Hospital were unable to reattach his hand.
“He was treated for his injuries before being discharged and handed over to the National Police.
“The other man, named Nelvin ‘Papito’ Félix, was also hospitalized with head trauma and multiple machete wounds to his body, as reported by Need to Know.
See reports of this similar story Here and Here.
No evidence shows that the two black men were Nigerians.
Conclusion
The video of men in street machete fighting is unrelated to the claim of control of drug territory in India.
