A Venezuelan identified as Luigishotx has gone viral on TikTok after posting a video in which he expresses his support for the Cuban people and reflects on the price of freedom, amidst the political transition happening in Venezuela following the fall of Nicolás Maduro.
“How much is the freedom of Cuba worth? We Venezuelans pay for that with oil, with gold, with gas, with any mineral resource,” he says in the video, recorded from his car and released on January 11. The young man, based in Los Angeles, California, asserts that “we Venezuelans understand the Cubans very well,” because both peoples have endured dictatorships, repression, and misery.
“I believe the time has come, as with Maduro's downfall and a possible transition, which I have faith is already happening for the good of the Venezuelan people. I think the next step is for Venezuela to also gain freedom. The Cuban brothers are wonderful people and they deserve freedom after more than 60 years under a system that has led their country to ruin,” states @luigishotx in another part of the video.
The message, accompanied by the text “How much is the freedom of Cuba worth? We Venezuelans are paying for that,” has received over three thousand reactions on TikTok and has generated hundreds of comments from grateful and moved Venezuelans and Cubans in response to his words.
Among the responses, many users express gratitude towards the young man: "You can’t imagine how I feel as a Cuban hearing your words, thank you for so much love for the Cuban people. And a thousand apologies because the misfortune that happened to your country came from my land. God bless Venezuela and Cuba," one of them wrote. The author of the video responded: "It didn’t come from your land, brother, it came from evil people, and evil people have no nationality."
Other comments highlight the unity between both peoples: “Cubans are the same people,” “We want Cubans to be free and happy,” “Cuba and Venezuela are one,” “We pay for that freedom with love,” various users write. Many claim to have cried upon witnessing the displays of solidarity between Venezuelans and Cubans, while others mention that “God willing, may my Cuba be free like Venezuela.”
The publication has been interpreted as a reflection of the climate of hope experienced by part of Venezuelan society following the capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces on January 3 and the beginning of a political transition process in the country. A survey by The Economist and the firm Premise, conducted between January 9 and 13, revealed that 80% of Venezuelans support the operation that ended the regime and demand the call for presidential elections within a maximum of six months, according to a study cited by international media.
In that context, the message from Luigishotx has become a symbolic declaration of brotherhood between two peoples marked by authoritarianism. “Down with the dictatorship, long live freedom, and God bless you guys, I care for you very much,” concludes the young Venezuelan in his video.
Filed under: