Venezuela Restores Access to X After Yearlong Ban, Country's Interim Leader Rodriguez Marks Online Comeback

Venezuela restored access to the social media platform X, ending more than a year of restrictions imposed under captured leader Nicolás Maduro, as interim leader Delcy Rodríguez resumed posting on the platform and signaled a return to official government use.

Rodríguez announced her return to X with a message calling for unity and stability. "We reconnect through this channel," she wrote. "Venezuela remains standing, with strength and historical awareness. Let us stay united, moving forward toward economic calm, social justice and the welfare state we deserve."

The move followed the lifting of a block ordered in August 2024, when Maduro suspended X after his fraudulent presidential reelection, accusing the platform's owner, Elon Musk, of participating in a "cyber coup" against his government. At the time, X had become one of the country's main sources of real-time information amid increased censorship of traditional media. Access remained possible only through virtual private networks.

Other senior officials also resumed activity on the platform, including Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, who said the government would again use X as a communication channel:

"I'm stopping by to send a big hug to the brothers and sisters of Venezuela and around the world who have been following what's happening in our country. We're going to resume using this channel to communicate — stay tuned. We will prevail!!"

Maduro's own X account was also reactivated, posting images of himself alongside Rodríguez and his wife, Cilia Flores, who, like Maduro, faces drug-related charges in U.S. courts. One post described Maduro's detention as a "kidnapping," marking 11 days since his arrest, as DW reports.

While the platform was blocked for the general population, investigations published in November documented how pro-government networks continued operating on X throughout the ban. Research by the Venezuelan NGO Cazadores de Fake News found that anonymous accounts linked to the Ministry of Communication coordinated campaigns supporting Maduro and attacking opponents, often using coordinated hashtags, manipulated videos and artificial intelligence tools.

Digital rights groups said the arrangement created an information imbalance, with citizens requiring VPNs to access X while government-linked networks maintained unrestricted activity. "The government uses the same tools it forbids its citizens," said Andrés Azpúrua of VE Sin Filtro, which argued the blockade lacked legal basis and violated constitutional rights.