A video that has gone viral in recent hours has sparked intense controversy on social media: the footage shows a tense exchange between Diosdado Cabello and an American rescuer in the debris zone in La Guaira, as emergency teams race against time to find survivors of the earthquakes on June 24 in Venezuela.
In the images—recorded in the area most devastated by the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes—one can hear the member of the search and rescue team firmly repeating: “Back up, back up”, as he points to a specific spot among the rubble.
“There is someone right here who is screaming for help”, the rescuer tells Diosdado Cabello, the interior minister of the Venezuelan regime, who remains within the perimeter of the operation without backing down for several seconds.
In the video, Cabello can be heard responding: “Back up. Back to the truck. Back to the truck.”
The rescuer sums up his frustration before ending the discussion: "I'm not happy with this situation."
A second video, recorded from another angle, captures a direct question: “Don’t you want me to go and help the person who is there?”
The images spread quickly on X, Instagram, and other platforms, where thousands of users interpreted them as a deliberate interference in the rescue efforts.
The official version: Context or justification?
The journalist Darvinson Rojas published on Instagram a video five minutes long -with additional context- that provides a different perspective on the episode.
According to Rojas, Cabello was not obstructing the rescue, but rather requesting that a truck from the American team remain off to avoid making noise and to not interfere with the detection of potential survivors.
“Cabello asked for a truck from the American team to remain off to avoid generating noise in the area and not interfere with the search for trapped individuals. In light of the situation, he offered to help push the vehicle to move it without having the engine running,” wrote the journalist.
Reducing ambient noise is, indeed, a standard protocol in urban rescue operations.
However, this version has not been independently confirmed by the Venezuelan authorities or by the U.S. delegation.
The explanation has not managed to calm the controversy.
Divided reactions: Skepticism, criticism, and some voices of calm
A majority of users rejected the official version. "Something is being hidden," "What are they covering up?" and "Let them work, what are they trying to sweep under the rug?" were some of the most frequently repeated phrases in the comments.
Direct criticisms of Cabello are also plentiful: "Since when is he a specialist in rescues?" or "All he does is give orders and doesn’t lift a finger," reflected the widespread skepticism regarding his role in the operation.
Several messages described what happened as "pure show" and accused the government of manipulating the context.
Others alluded to the urgency of the moment with phrases like "They had 25 million in their hands" and "Tick tock, tick tock."
A minority partially defended the explanation: "There’s no mystery: rescuers need silence to be able to hear possible survivors. If there are vehicles, they must move without starting them,” argued a commentator.
Amidst so much polarization, some voices called for a humanitarian approach: "What matters is that they can locate the people and rescue them alive."
Congress members Carlos Giménez and María Elvira outraged
Cuban-American Congressman Carlos Giménez reacted angrily to the images and reminded that there is a reward of 25 million dollars for Cabello.
"As the United States increases its presence in Venezuela, we should arrest the criminal Diosdado Cabello and bring him to justice so that he stops obstructing the distribution of aid to those affected by the earthquake," wrote the Republican legislator on X.
Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar has not remained silent either.
"Only a criminal would stand between rescuers and the people trapped under the rubble. And that is precisely what Diosdado Cabello is. The regime of Delcy Rodríguez must understand this with absolute clarity: it must allow all humanitarian aid from around the world to enter Venezuela. Let the rescue teams do the work that your government is incapable of doing," he wrote on X.
A climate of distrust prior
The incident does not happen in a vacuum. The Maduro regime has faced criticism since the very onset of the emergency. On June 26, Cabello himself announced the restriction of access to La Guaira starting at eight in the evening, a measure that sparked a wave of public outrage.
Meanwhile, the international response is progressing. The United States deployed the Virginia Task Force 1 and Florida Task Force 1 teams, along with the DART team from USAID, and committed 150 million dollars in humanitarian aid.
U.S. rescuers have successfully pulled a baby and her mother to safety after 32 hours trapped beneath the debris.
The official balance rises to at least 1,450 dead, more than 3,238 injured, and over 50,000 missing according to the UN, in what is considered the greatest natural disaster Venezuela has faced in decades.
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