Venezuelan Interior Minister and long‑suspected drug lord Diosdado Cabello threatened Venezuelans in a video posted to the Chinese outlet TikTok on Monday night, warning them that “to doubt is to betray.”
Cabello issued the recorded threats amid ongoing uncertainty in Venezuela following the January 3 U.S. law enforcement action in Caracas that resulted in the capture of deposed dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
For years, Cabello — who comes from a military background — has been widely described as one of the most powerful, if not the most powerful, figures in the Venezuelan socialist regime. He has held several high‑ranking positions in both the executive and legislative branches under Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro.
Cabello was one of the military officials who joined Chávez’s failed February 1992 coup attempt and briefly served as acting president of Venezuela for a short period during the April 2022 attempted coup. He also holds the official title of Sectoral Vice President for Policy, Citizen Security, and Peace.
The interior minister is also the host of Con el Mazo Dando (“Hitting with the Mallet”), a socialist propaganda show aired across Venezuelan state media — and on YouTube until his channel was suspended in 2024. At press time, Cabello had not hosted a new episode in 2026.
Cabello appeared in the streets of Caracas on Monday night alongside law enforcement officials. The Con el Mazo Dando website, which doubles as Cabello’s own outlet, said Cabello toured several areas of Caracas to “supervise the deployment of security forces and confirm the peaceful atmosphere prevailing in the city.”
The two videos published by Cabello on his official TikTok account were recorded in the Caricuao parish in southwest Caracas and at O’Leary Square in downtown. In both clips, Cabello and the officers are seen yelling “Always loyal, never traitors,” a chant the socialist regime has adopted in recent years. They also repeated the slogan “To doubt is to betray” several times.
Cabello was one of the first senior regime officials to make a public appearance in the early hours of Saturday after the U.S. operation. At that time, he reportedly said he was patrolling the streets of Caracas to “guarantee peace and tranquility for Venezuelans,” and urged the world to condemn the U.S. action. He framed the military strike as an attack on civilians and suggested international organizations risk complicity if they stayed silent.
Diosdado Cabello is actively wanted by U.S. authorities on multiple narco‑terrorism charges and has an active $25 million bounty for information leading to his arrest and/or conviction.
Venezuela remains in a tense calm following Maduro’s capture. Unlike the Venezuelan diaspora — which has celebrated the dictator’s downfall — local Venezuelans are exercising extreme caution to avoid reprisals by the regime’s repressive apparatus. Residents speaking to Breitbart News on condition of anonymity said they planned to carry out normal work routines despite weekend events.
The socialist regime also issued an emergency decree imposing a “State of Emergency” throughout Venezuela, citing the need to guarantee internal order, national defense, and the protection of the population in the face of “an extraordinary external situation.” The decree was allegedly signed by Maduro on January 3, though public details on how that was possible given his capture by U.S. forces have not been disclosed.
On Monday night, the official Mérida state police Instagram account announced the arrest of two unidentified men, aged 64 and 65, in the municipality of Guaraque for celebrating what authorities called the “kidnapping” of Nicolás Maduro. According to local police, the complaint was filed after the men shouted slogans against the regime and insulted members of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela.
The police concluded the announcement with the slogans “Serve with Honor” and “To Doubt is to Betray” — the same phrase Cabello chanted on Monday night.
