A video that has gone viral in recent hours has sparked intense controversy on social media: the images show a tense exchange between Diosdado Cabello and an American rescuer in the debris zone of La Guaira, as emergency teams work against the clock to find survivors of the earthquakes on June 24 in Venezuela.
In the images—recorded in the region most devastated by the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes—the member of the search and rescue team is heard firmly repeating: “Back up, back up”, while pointing to a specific spot among the rubble.
“There is someone right here shouting for help”, the rescuer tells Diosdado Cabello, the interior minister of the Venezuelan regime, who stands within the operation's perimeter without yielding for several seconds.
In the video, Cabello can be heard responding: “Step back. Back to the truck. Back to the truck.”
The rescuer summarizes 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 official journalist Darvinson Rojas published on Instagram a video that lasts five minutes -with additional context- providing a different perspective on the episode.
According to Rojas, Cabello was not obstructing the rescue but was requesting that a truck from the American team remain turned off to avoid making noise and interfering with the detection of potential survivors.
“Cabello requested that a truck from the American team stay off to avoid generating noise in the area and not interfere with the search for trapped individuals. Given the situation, he offered to help push the vehicle to move it without having the engine on,” 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 American delegation.
The explanation has not managed to quell the controversy.
Divided reactions: Skepticism, criticism, and some voices of calm
A majority of users rejected the official version. "It hides something," "What are they hiding?" and "Let us work, what are they covering up?" were some of the most frequently repeated phrases in the comments.
Direct criticisms of Cabello are also plentiful: "Since when is he a rescue specialist?" or "All he does is give orders and doesn't lift a finger," reflecting the widespread skepticism regarding his role in the operation.
Several messages characterized 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 is no mystery: rescue workers need silence to hear potential survivors. If there are vehicles, they must move without starting them," argued a commentator.
Amidst so much polarization, some voices appealed to a humanitarian approach: "The important thing is that they can locate people and rescue them alive."
Congress members Carlos Giménez and María Elvira outraged
Cuban-American Congressman Carlos Giménez reacted with outrage to the images and reminded that there is a $25 million reward for Cabello.
"As the United States increases its presence in Venezuela, we should arrest the criminal Diosdado Cabello and bring him to justice so he stops obstructing the distribution of aid to those affected by the earthquake," wrote the Republican legislator on X.
Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar has also not remained silent.
"Only a criminal would stand between the 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.
An atmosphere of distrust beforehand
The incident does not happen in a vacuum. The Maduro regime has faced criticism from the very first moment 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, along with the DART team from USAID, and committed 150 million dollars in humanitarian aid.
American rescuers have successfully rescued a baby and her mother alive after 32 hours trapped under the rubble.
The official toll rises to at least 1,450 dead, over 3,238 injured, and more than 50,000 missing according to the UN, in what is considered the largest natural disaster Venezuela has faced in decades.
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