The multi-award-winning journalist and writer Jorge Ramos published a video on Facebook this Saturday in which he reacted strongly to the seismic catastrophe that devastated Venezuela and to the regime's response, issuing a high-voltage political warning: "There are earthquakes that end tyrannies."
The sentence summarizes the core of his message, recorded four days after two earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 shook the northern part of the country on June 24, with their epicenter in the state of Yaracuy and just 39 seconds apart, in what the United States Geological Survey (USGS) described as the strongest earthquakes recorded in Venezuela since 1900.
The video amassed nearly 530,000 views in just a few hours, over 25,000 "likes," and more than 1,900 comments, reflecting the impact of his words on an audience that anxiously follows the Venezuelan tragedy.
Ramos directly pointed to the military of the regime and questioned their absence in rescue efforts: "More and more Venezuelans are asking where those military personnel are who for decades so repressed the Venezuelan people and who are now missing from the rescue operations."
The journalist was explicit in identifying whom he was referring to: "I am referring to those military personnel who murdered and repressed during the dictatorships of Hugo Chávez, Nicolás Maduro, and now in the era of Delcy Rodríguez, Jorge Rodríguez, and Diosdado Cabello."
In contrast to that institutional absence, Ramos expressed a genuine emotion regarding the reaction of civil society: "The dictatorship has completely overwhelmed itself in Venezuela, and I am absolutely moved to see how so many Venezuelan civilians are helping other Venezuelans with their own hands in rescue efforts. I have never seen anything like it."
To illustrate this phenomenon, the journalist referred to a historical example: "I remember, however, the earthquake of 1985 in Mexico, where the State was also overwhelmed and Mexicans helped rescue other Mexicans." That earthquake, with a magnitude of 8.1, left over 10,000 dead, overwhelmed the PRI government, and gave rise to an organized citizen movement that many historians cite as the beginning of the political weakening of that party.
The analogy drawn by Ramos is not coincidental: natural disasters can accelerate the collapse of authoritarian regimes when they show their inability to respond to the population.
Although he clarified that "this is not the time for politics or to demand an accounting," he warned that this moment "will come soon" and that for now "the priority is to rescue the survivors and help the victims."
The magnitude of the tragedy underscores the urgency of the call. The official death toll has risen to 1,430 people as of June 27, with more than 3,360 injured. The UN estimated over 50,000 missing and 6.76 million affected, while the UNDP calculated material damages of 6.7 billion dollars. The USGS issued a Red Alert — the highest level — and projected a 42% probability that the final number of victims could range between 10,000 and 100,000 people.
On social media, thousands of Venezuelans resonated with Ramos's message. Some comments expressed the accumulated frustration bluntly, pointing out that "even a dog has done more" than the authorities in the rescue efforts.
The political context exacerbates the situation. Since January 3, 2026, when Maduro was captured by U.S. forces, Delcy Rodríguez has taken on the role of acting president, recognized by the Armed Forces, while Cabello operates as a real power player within the PSUV. The regime has not called for elections despite constitutional demands, and the minimum wage has been frozen since March 2022 at less than one dollar per month.
The situation has parallels with the Cuban reality, where the regime has also historically demonstrated its inability to respond to emergencies without relying on spontaneous civic solidarity, while maintaining a robust military and repressive apparatus that does not translate into real protection for the population.
The magazine Newsweek included Ramos among the 50 most important politicians and journalists in the United States; while the magazine Time ranks him as one of the 25 most influential Hispanics in the northern country. In February 2019, Ramos was detained for over two hours and deported from Venezuela after attempting to interview Maduro, who confiscated the recordings.
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