"No meaningful changes" – Venezuelans still need a VPN to access X

• X remains blocked in Venezuela, despite claims of the ban being lifted
• The majority of Venezuelans can access the platform only by using a VPN
• Venezuela's digital rights group confirms "no meaningful changes" in 2026

Using a VPN is still required to access X in Venezuela, despite rumors suggesting that the ban on the platform had been lifted following the capture President Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuelan digital rights group Ve Sin Filtro debunked the rumors on Wednesday, stating: "The social network X remains blocked in Venezuela since August 8, 2024, when Nicolás Maduro ordered its suspension following the presidential elections of that year."

The organization added that the majority of citizens can only access the platform by using a virtual private network (VPN) or similar software.

The rumor may have been sparked by the return of Venezuelan government accounts to the platform recently. However, Ve Sin Filtro's Director, Andres Azpurua, said X "continues to be blocked on the major ISPs, including the state-owned CANTV."

VPN usage spike despite restrictions

The digital rights organization confirms that there have been no "meaningful changes" to internet censorship since its latest monitoring report published in November last year.

The report shows that state control of Venezuela's internet deepened further throughout 2025. X, Signal, YouTube, TikTok, and Telegram remain restricted, albeit sometimes intermittently.

At least 61 independent media outlets are also still blocked, which has prompted the group to develop their own censorship-resistant newsreader app.

Venezuela authorities have also been targeting VPN usage and blocked over 20 VPN websites in January 2025. However, Ve Sin Filtro experts confirm that most VPNs continue to function despite the disruptions.

Earlier this month, Proton VPN recorded a 12,500% increase in sign-ups from the country following the capture of President Maduro.

If you are in Venezuela and struggling to use your VPN, we recommend switching to obfuscated VPN protocols in your app's settings. These are designed to better evade blocks by disguising your VPN traffic as normal HTTPS traffifc.

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