Venezuela's most-wanted minister caught on video berating US rescue workers

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, on whom the United States has placed a $25 million (about 38.7 billion won) bounty, was caught on video shouting at American rescue workers conducting relief operations in the country.

Footage of Cabello screaming and pointing at US rescue workers spread on X, formerly Twitter, according to the New York Post and other media outlets on Sunday (local time). In the video, one rescue worker pushed back, telling Cabello: "There are people over there that we're trying to save — are you going to stop us from helping them?"

Cabello is wanted by US authorities on charges including narco-terrorism, cocaine trafficking, and the possession and transport of machine guns. Washington has identified him as the leader of Cartel de los Soles, a drug trafficking organization allegedly involving senior government officials and military generals.

A former military officer, Cabello has served as interior minister since 2024, overseeing Venezuela's security apparatus. He also faces allegations of arbitrarily detaining and torturing political opponents and critical journalists.

Cabello has remained at the center of power even after former President Nicolas Maduro was arrested by US forces. He is considered a close ally of Delcy Rodriguez, who is currently serving as acting president.

After the video spread, US Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez, a former firefighter, posted on X: "As the US expands its influence in Venezuela, we must capture this thug Diosdado Cabello and bring him to justice — so he can no longer block aid from reaching earthquake victims."

Venezuela has recorded more than 1,700 deaths from a series of earthquakes last week measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5. Some 5,000 people were injured and 23,000 affected. A US elite rescue team, USA-01, pulled a nine-month-old infant and the child's mother to safety after they had been trapped in a collapsed building for nearly three days.