Venezuelans waiting for passport and identification services have discovered that the government's digital queue system at SAIME (the national identification agency) doesn't actually track real waiting lines—it simply displays random numbers to create the illusion of an organized process.
The revelation came from code analysis shared by a programmer on Venezuelan social media, showing that the queue display uses a GetRandomInt function to generate arbitrary numbers rather than tracking actual appointment positions. "Int (integer) is a type of variable whose function is to define a whole number," the programmer explained. "If you know a bit of English, GetRandomInt = get random number, and from the other lines of code that number is used for the queue display."
The discovery highlights how Venezuela's authoritarian government maintains control through bureaucratic cruelty—forcing citizens to endure what they believe are long but legitimate waits when the system is entirely fabricated. SAIME offices handle critical documents including passports, national ID cards, and other identification papers that Venezuelans need for basic services, travel, and proving citizenship.
For the millions of Venezuelans seeking to leave the country amid economic collapse, obtaining a passport has become a nightmare process involving bribes, connections, or extraordinary luck. The fake queue system adds another layer of deception to an already opaque and corrupt bureaucracy that gives officials arbitrary power over citizens' ability to move freely.
In Venezuela, as across nations experiencing collapse, oil wealth that once seemed a blessing became a curse—and ordinary people pay the price. The regime's use of technological theater to mask bureaucratic dysfunction reflects the broader collapse of institutions that once functioned, replaced by systems designed to extract payments and demonstrate state power rather than serve citizens.
The technical exposé spread rapidly through Venezuelan exile communities, confirming what many suspected: the endless waiting at SAIME wasn't inefficiency but deliberate design. With over seven million Venezuelans having fled the country since 2015, passport access remains one of the most fundamental—and deliberately obstructed—rights for those seeking to escape or maintain connections with family abroad.
