On the night of June 22, riel Jesús Sarmiento Rodríguez, a brave 25-year-old Venezuelan influencer, was brutally murdered in his home in El Piñonal, Maracay, while livestreaming on TikTok.
On the night of June 22, Gabriel Jesús Sarmiento Rodríguez, a brave 25-year-old Venezuelan influencer, was brutally murdered in his home in El Piñonal, Maracay, while livestreaming on TikTok.
Two armed men broke into his home, shooting him at least nine times and seriously injuring his mother with a shot to the abdomen. The crime, captured in real time, has shocked Venezuela and exposes the rot of a system where organized crime and political power appear deeply intertwined.
Sarmiento, known on TikTok as @unleacks, was a programmer and cybersecurity analyst who used his platform with 80,000 followers to denounce police corruption and the links between Chavista regime officials and criminal gangs such as the Tren de Aragua and the Tren del Llano.
In his videos, he directly tagged figures like the Interior Minister, Diosdado Cabello, and the Governor of Aragua, Johana Sánchez, demanding justice. His courage made him a target.
The young man had previously reported receiving threats from La Morita prison, where he was detained for 15 days over an accusation of harassment that he claimed was unjust. In his final livestream, Sarmiento shouted his address in desperation, “Calle JJ Montesinos,” pleading for help from Sebin, but no help ever came.
Instead, the hitmen acted with impunity, silencing a voice that made the regime uncomfortable.
The Tren de Aragua, described by the U.S. State Department as a transnational terrorist organization, operates across seven countries, involved in drug trafficking, human trafficking, and extortion.
Sarmiento directly pointed to its leader, Héctor “Niño Guerrero” Flores, a fugitive since 2023, claiming that his father, Enrique Sarmiento, was also a victim of the gang. “Niño Guerrero, you know what happened to my father,” he said in a video, challenging organized crime.
Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced that National Prosecutor’s Office 69 would investigate Sarmiento’s sicariato (contract killing), but the lack of concrete progress fuels doubt.
How can a regime that denies the existence of the Tren de Aragua—calling it an “urban legend”—allow its critics to be executed live?
Meanwhile, progressives—so quick to defend “noble causes” on social media—remain deafeningly silent. Where are the marches for freedom of expression they so often champion?
It seems the Venezuelan tragedy doesn’t fit their narrative of selective victims. The hypocrisy of the left, applauding oppressive regimes while ignoring heroes like Sarmiento, is as predictable as it is pathetic.
Sarmiento’s murder adds to a wave of violence against communicators in Hispanic America, like Mexican influencer Valeria Márquez, who was also murdered live. Organizations like Provea and the IACHR warn about digital repression, but in Venezuela, where Chavismo controls everything, justice seems like a mirage.
Sarmiento, nicknamed “the Venezuelan Julian Assange,” paid the price for his bravery.
His death is not just a crime; it is a warning from the regime to those who dare to speak out. In a country where corruption and crime reign, the question is not who killed Gabriel, but who allowed him to be killed.
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