On the night time of June 22, riel Jesús Sarmiento Rodríguez, a courageous 25-year-old Venezuelan influencer, was brutally murdered in his residence in El Piñonal, Maracay, whereas livestreaming on TikTok.
On the night time of June 22, Gabriel Jesús Sarmiento Rodríguez, a courageous 25-year-old Venezuelan influencer, was brutally murdered in his residence in El Piñonal, Maracay, whereas livestreaming on TikTok.
Two armed males broke into his residence, taking pictures him not less than 9 instances and critically injuring his mom with a shot to the stomach. The crime, captured in actual time, has shocked Venezuela and exposes the rot of a system the place organized crime and political energy seem deeply intertwined.
Sarmiento, recognized on TikTok as @unleacks, was a programmer and cybersecurity analyst who used his platform with 80,000 followers to denounce police corruption and the hyperlinks between Chavista regime officers and prison gangs such because the Tren de Aragua and the Tren del Llano.
In his movies, he straight tagged figures just like the Inside Minister, Diosdado Cabello, and the Governor of Aragua, Johana Sánchez, demanding justice. His braveness made him a goal.
The younger man had beforehand reported receiving threats from La Morita jail, the place he was detained for 15 days over an accusation of harassment that he claimed was unjust. In his last livestream, Sarmiento shouted his deal with in desperation, “Calle JJ Montesinos,” pleading for assist from Sebin, however no assist ever got here.
As a substitute, the hitmen acted with impunity, silencing a voice that made the regime uncomfortable.
The Tren de Aragua, described by the U.S. State Division as a transnational terrorist group, operates throughout seven nations, concerned in drug trafficking, human trafficking, and extortion.
Sarmiento straight pointed to its chief, Héctor “Niño Guerrero” Flores, a fugitive since 2023, claiming that his father, Enrique Sarmiento, was additionally a sufferer of the gang. “Niño Guerrero, you already know what occurred to my father,” he stated in a video, difficult organized crime.
Lawyer Basic Tarek William Saab introduced that Nationwide Prosecutor’s Workplace 69 would examine Sarmiento’s sicariato (contract killing), however the lack of concrete progress fuels doubt.
How can a regime that denies the existence of the Tren de Aragua—calling it an “city legend”—enable its critics to be executed stay?
In the meantime, progressives—so fast to defend “noble causes” on social media—stay deafeningly silent. The place are the marches for freedom of expression they so usually champion?
It appears the Venezuelan tragedy doesn’t match their narrative of selective victims. The hypocrisy of the left, applauding oppressive regimes whereas ignoring heroes like Sarmiento, is as predictable as it’s pathetic.
Sarmiento’s homicide provides to a wave of violence towards communicators in Hispanic America, like Mexican influencer Valeria Márquez, who was additionally murdered stay. Organizations like Provea and the IACHR warn about digital repression, however in Venezuela, the place Chavismo controls all the pieces, justice looks as if a mirage.
Sarmiento, nicknamed “the Venezuelan Julian Assange,” paid the value for his bravery.
His loss of life is not only against the law; it’s a warning from the regime to those that dare to talk out. In a rustic the place corruption and crime reign, the query isn’t who killed Gabriel, however who allowed him to be killed.
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