Film Screening 

# *Escaping Venezuela*

##### Watch the Event 

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Date and Time 

September 30, 2026 6 - 7:45 PM EDT 

Location 

Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 

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[Register](https://register.cato.org/escaping-venezuela/register) 

##### Featuring 

![Jesus Armas_cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2026-09/Jesus%20Armas_cropped.jpg?itok=wtj_oW1s) 

Jesús Armas 

Venezuelan Political Activist

![Germania Rodriguez Poleo_cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2026-09/Germania%20Rodriguez%20Poleo_cropped.jpg?itok=e87aoycn) 

Germania Rodríguez Poleo 

Venezuelan Journalist

![Jim Epstein_cropped](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2026-09/Jim%20Epstein_cropped.jpg?itok=nsM0wbi1) 

Jim Epstein 

Director, *Escaping Venezuela,* Executive Editor*, Reason* magazine

[![Ian Vásquez](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/author_picture/public/2021-01/Ian%20Vasquez.jpg?itok=yBS_mzpm)](/people/ian-vasquez) 

[Ian Vásquez](/people/ian-vasquez)

Vice President for International Studies, Cato Institute

[ 

](https://x.com/vasquezian) [ 

](mailto:ivasquez@cato.org) 

**Please note that we will not be streaming the film online, but will stream the discussion following the documentary, which will begin at 7:15 pm.**

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*Escaping Venezuela*, a new feature documentary from *Reason* magazine, tells the story of Venezuela’s collapse through the life of Carlos Mora, an entrepreneur whose thriving business was destroyed by the state. After President Hugo Chávez imposed price controls, nationalized industries, and silenced the media, Carlos fought back in a remarkable way—by helping dissident judges, journalists, and others who were targeted by the socialist regime to escape across the border to Colombia. Carlos’ resistance came at a terrible cost: He was captured, imprisoned, and tortured.

Join us for a preview screening of Carlos’s story, which shows how a political ideology caused Venezuela’s descent into tyranny and humanitarian catastrophe. After the film, there will be a question-and-answer session featuring Jesús Armas, a former political prisoner and torture victim during the rule of Nicolás Maduro; renowned journalist Germania Rodríguez Poleo; and the film’s director, Jim Epstein.

**Reception to follow.**

##### Watch the film’s trailer here 

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This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).