Due to its volatile political climate, some of my friends from Venezuela aren’t currently able to talk to me through some messenger apps, or even post their content on popular platforms.
To solve their problem, they’ve asked me to check whether it was possible to use a service like ExpressVPN in Venezuela.
I really wanted to help them, which is why I did some research and put together some guidelines that were useful to them and would hopefully help you too.
ExpressVPN in Venezuela – What We Know
WhatsApp, YouTube, Wikipedia, Zello
The decisions of Venezuelan authorities to block Wikipedia and YouTube websites, WhatsApp and voice-chat app Zello has made its citizens turn to VPN services.
Since VPN works to cloak your traffic from an ISP, the recommendation has a lot of merits. Venezuelans ISPs can’t see your traffic and therefore can’t block it.
Unfortunately, the Venezuelan government has blocked several free VPNs, which isn’t surprising since free VPNs often don’t have a genuine no-logging policy.
ExpressVPN, on the other hand, does, as evidenced by previous cases of governments attempting to get access to its logs.
It also offers 256-bits encryption and a kill switch that works whenever your connection is dropped or when your device is in sleep mode.
Therefore, its levels of security are perfect for a restrictive territory like Venezuela.
Virtual Server Locations
If you want to connect to the Internet in another country from Venezuela, ExpressVPN’s range of servers is another reason why the service is a great choice.
Most of their servers are in the same country as registered IP addresses, except for the 3% of their servers that are virtual server locations.
The purpose of such virtual servers is to ensure secure and speedy connections in countries like Venezuela, where it might be tricky to find servers that can do that.
ExpressVPN’s virtual server for Venezuela is located in Brazil.
I definitely appreciated the transparency of ExpressVPN about the number of virtual servers and the countries they’re used at, given the known drawbacks of such servers.
In addition, Brazil is not a 14-eyes jurisdiction, which makes its location safer than Venezuela in terms of privacy.
If you prefer to see how ExpressVPN can be practically configured, you can watch videos below to see how to take full advantage of what’s on offer.
Protocols Available in Venezuela
| Protocol | Available |
|---|---|
| OpenVPN | Yes |
| IPSec | Yes |
| L2TP | Yes |
| PPTP | Yes |
Why Does Venezuela Block Certain Resources?
Venezuelan government’s restrictions on citizens’ access to information have been multiplying over the last few years, for TV stations and media alike.
The Internet is only the latest in the authorities’ censorship initiatives.
The 2017 “anti-hate” law was one of the most significant attempts to clamp down on free speech.
Below, I included some examples to illustrate the extent of widespread censorship in the country and to highlight the need for a VPN.
Social Media
Although Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube remain available in Venezuela, they’ve experienced several disruptions this year.
Since for many people, they are a primary means of communication, a VPN service could’ve made a big difference.
Wikipedia
Since January of this year, Wikipedia has been blocked on the country’s territory.
This was largely due to the conflicting views on who legally holds the highest office in Venezuela. Many use Wikipedia in their daily life, whether in their work or studies, and losing access to such a large treasure trove of information would have devastating consequences.
Zello
The “walkie-talkie” app was blocked by the authorities after the 2014 protests under the pretense of being a “terrorist app”.
To this day, users in Venezuela can’t access it without a VPN.
And yet, the popularity of the app hasn’t dropped.
In fact, the numbers of Venezuela channels’ listeners are growing.
The owners of the service themselves recommend using a VPN to access the communications and stay on top of what’s going on in the country.
So, Does ExpressVPN Work in Venezuela?
If you’re looking for VPNs that work in Venezuela, you’re in luck because with ExpressVPN, you can use the Internet without any censorship restrictions, thanks to its virtual servers.
To me and my friends, that was a great relief, because ExpressVPN’s security and speed features are excellent.
Did you enjoy my insight into ExpressVPN? Was it helpful to you?
Please let us know what you think in the comments and don’t hesitate to share the article if you liked it!
