x was again accessible in Venezuela without the need to use a VPN a few hours after the double earthquake that shook the country on Wednesday, June 24. According to the Venezuelan media eldiario.com, dozens of users from different regions began reporting during the early hours of Thursday that they could enter the social network again directlyalthough no authority has officially confirmed the lifting of the blockade.
The apparent restoration comes at a particularly serious time for Venezuela after suffering two consecutive earthquakes yesterday, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 and just 39 seconds of difference between the two.
The two earthquakes had very close epicentersseparated from each other by about five or six kilometers, approximately 30 southeast of Yumarewest of Caracasaccording to the United States Geological Survey. The northern area of the country, with special impact on La Guaira and the Greater Caracashas been affected by landslides, power outages and damage to infrastructure that have also deteriorated the functioning of the Internet.
The monitoring group NetBlocks has reported a sharp decline in connectivity in Venezuela, including Caracas, after The tremors will damage telecommunications and electrical infrastructures. The interruption occurs in a catastrophic emergency situation, just when thousands of people need to contact family members, consult reliable information or ask for help.
The social network X, formerly known as Twitterwas restricted in Venezuela from August 2024when Nicolas Maduro ordered to Conatel block it initially for ten days. The Government then accused X and Elon Musk of inciting hatred and being part of an alleged ‘cyber coup’in the midst of the crisis after the presidential elections.
Since then, the only way to access X from the country has been to use a virtual private network or VPNfor its acronym in English. This type of service encrypts a device’s Internet traffic and allows the user to simulate a geographical location in another country in front of the operator.
According to eldiario.com, neither Conatel, the telecommunications regulatory body, nor other Venezuelan authorities have communicated whether the blocking of Another possible explanation is that The damage caused to the network infrastructure by the double earthquake has affected the systems used to block X.