A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck Egypt, north of Suez early on Monday, startling a content creator during a livestream. Tremors were felt as far as Gaza, prompting residents to evacuate homes and hotels. No casualties were reported.
Published On 3 Aug 20263 Aug 2026
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Rengel stressed the importance of completing seismic microzoning studies in La Guaira. (Venezuelanalysis)
José Gregorio Rengel is a civil engineer with a master’s degree in seismic-resistant engineering from the Central University of Venezuela (UCV), where he presently teaches, and specialization studies in geological risks at the University of Geneva, Switzerland. Rengel is a member of the government commission tasked with assessing the structural damage from the June 24 double earthquake.
In this interview, he discusses the effects of the tremors, Venezuela’s building codes, and the steps toward reconstruction.
Why did the double earthquake on June 24 have such devastating effects on La Guaira?
Every seismic event is caused by a rupture along geological faults, and in this case, the rupture –which began in Yaracuy State –follows a distinct east-west direction along the San Sebastián fault. The coastal strip that is La Guaira lies directly on that rupture plane. In fact, the distance from La Guaira to the fault –specifically, the fault’s rupture plane –is 0 kilometers in some areas; in other words, the state lies directly on the rupture. This is made clear in all the reports released by various agencies, from [Venezuela Seismological Research Foundation] FUNVISIS to the US Geological Survey.
In an earthquake, the effects are maximized the closer cities are to these rupture planes. Furthermore, the earthquake was a very shallow event. In other words, it occurred at a small depth, which also leads to stronger effects. Thus, La Guaira meets these two specific conditions: first, it is practically located on the rupture plane, and second, the earthquake was a shallow event.
From a structural standpoint, with thousands of buildings affected, what are the priorities right now?
For now, our task is to inspect the buildings that were affected. Four weeks after the earthquake, we have conducted more than 32,000 inspections using the traffic-light system. Buildings that have not been damaged in any relevant way receive a green label; those that have been moderately affected, a yellow label; and those with significant damage, where people should not remain, a red label.
Next will come a reconstruction phase, which must be carried out in accordance with Venezuela’s seismic codes, most recently updated in 2019. In the case of La Guaira, additional studies are needed, such as developing a seismic microzoning analysis that already exists for Caracas. Although several studies are well underway, this classification has not yet been completed in La Guaira.
Can you explain a bit further what these building inspections consist of?
The current inspections are rapid assessments designed to enable an immediate decision regarding the occupants: whether they can stay, use the building under restricted conditions, or whether they must evacuate. Our job is to categorize the level of damage to the building.
This is followed by a second phase, during which a more detailed inspection will be conducted on structures that received yellow or red labels to determine which of these could proceed to the repair stage. This, in turn, requires a more detailed assessment by structural experts to determine what type of repair work can be performed and how it would be carried out. In cases where it is not possible to restore the structure, for those that are too severely damaged, protocols for safe, controlled demolition must be established.
The corporate media has tried to push the narrative that buildings constructed as part of the Great Venezuela Housing Mission (GMVV) were particularly hard hit in La Guaira. Is there any truth to it or is it a myth?
We have witnessed the collapse of various types of buildings, ranging from those built by the private sector, which account for the majority of the destroyed buildings observed, to those built by the public sector. Some of them were part of the Great Venezuela Housing Mission.
In some cases, the flattened buildings were very old. In other cases, they had structures that were supposed to be built in accordance with the latest codes. We will need to assess whether they failed to meet the standards, and that must be investigated. We cannot jump to conclusions.
However, it is also possible that the buildings did meet the standards, but the seismic event exceeded them. So far, everything seems to indicate that this was an extraordinary geological event and may have surpassed the country’s existing codes, especially in La Guaira.
As far as we understand, in Venezuela the building codes are primarily governed by the standards of the Ministry of Habitat and Housing and the COVENIN industrial norms system. What do these standards establish?
Basically, there are two types of standards: seismic standards, which specify the level of acceleration for which a building is designed to withstand, in terms of ground acceleration. In other words, this relates to the force that an earthquake exerts on structures. Therefore, the structural setup of buildings is designed to withstand these lateral forces caused by earthquakes through a calculation of acceleration at the base. This is something the standards define very clearly. Our most recent seismic standards were updated in 2019.
And then there are the building codes. These are essentially regulations governing how to construct with reinforced concrete, steel, and other materials. But fundamentally, in Venezuela, we build with concrete and steel. Currently, both types of codes are up to date and comply with international standards. Furthermore, Venezuela has a long tradition of good engineering practices in earthquake-resistant construction and structural engineering.
If the investigations ultimately reveal that those standards were not met, should penalties be imposed?
Certainly, yes. It is necessary to conduct an investigation into each collapsed building, or at least a sample of these buildings. This is the ideal approach. Of course, we must also take into account that the earthquake was an event with characteristics that we might call extreme or extraordinary.
In the case of La Guaira, given that the geological fault is very close to the affected areas, this generated what in science jargon are called near-field effects, which subject structures to extreme stress. That is why even buildings that were well-constructed and very robust sustained significant damage.
However, all cases of total collapse must be investigated to understand the causes: whether the earthquake exceeded the standards under which they were built, or whether there were construction defects or regulatory violations. The goal is to determine the predominant cause of the collapse. In La Guaira, we are working with the hypothesis that the seismic event exceeded regulatory parameters.
Looking now toward reconstruction, what are the next steps, particularly in La Guaira?
The first step is to continue developing seismic microzoning studies. This is what will allow us to understand in which areas of La Guaira there is an amplification of accelerations, an amplification of the effects of earthquakes, so that we can impose the strictest design and construction requirements precisely in those areas. Therefore, these rigorous microzoning studies must be conducted, completed, and translated into a map that complements the other regulations.
Pictures by Jesús Vizcaya
In Boca de Aroa, a village on the coast of Yaracuy state, Yaritza and her husband Fernando await the arrival of tourists who, for the past twelve years, have stopped for breakfast at their food stand “La Bendición de Dios”. This business has been the family’s main source of income. However, after the earthquakes of June 24, almost no vehicles are going through the road to the beaches.
Fernando says that traffic decreased significantly after the earthquakes. The epicenter of the first quake was very close to them, to the south, and some houses in the area were damaged. “Before the earthquake, the flow of travelers was considerably high, but our sales are now only 25% of what they used to be. Now we live on daily earnings. What we earn each day, we use to buy what we need.”
Fernando and Yaritza are not alone. In Boca de Aroa, as in other coastal communities near Morrocoy National Park, a large part of the economy depends on the constant flow of visitors from different parts of the country. To reach its keys and beaches from Valencia, many travelers take Troncal 3, the road that runs through Boca de Aroa before reaching the most popular beaches. After the earthquakes, the road shows evident damage: several sections remained closed, and traffic had to be diverted along alternative routes, further hindering access to the region. Buses that once arrived full of travelers now carry only a handful of passengers, mostly locals who get off one by one as soon as they recognize their usual stops.
Along this route, tourists sustain an economic chain of restaurants, small businesses, and people who work in the sea. Local fishermen find their main customers in hotels, inns, and restaurants, while others depend directly on tourism, relying on the sale of food, coconut products, fish and shellfish to make a living.
Tulio, owner of La Negra, a family restaurant specializing in seafood supplied by local fishermen, says the drop in tourism has hit both the business and its employees hard. “We couldn’t open the restaurant for three weeks after the earthquake. There’s no tourism, and people aren’t coming to town anymore,” says Tulio, sitting at one of the tables. “My employees keep coming to work because I want to help them financially, but this situation is really difficult.”
There was a reason for the lack of customers. Structural damage to the bridge leading to Punta Brava Beach, within Morrocoy National Park, forced the closure of this land access for weeks. The bridge reopened to light vehicles on July 25, yet the flow of visitors remained far below normal levels. Tourists could still board boats from the Tucacas pier to reach the keys, but the weeks-long closure disrupted the economic chain that sustained Boca de Aroa and Tucacas.
The day before authorities allowed light vehicles to pass again, local beach workers protested on that same road, demanding the lifting of the measures that prevented access to the coast.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) warns that small-scale fishing communities are among the most vulnerable to crises and natural disasters in Latin America and the Caribbean, due to their dependence on daily income and their limited capacity to absorb prolonged disruptions to their economic activity.
The Tierra Viva Foundation, a non-governmental organization dedicated to sustainable development, environmental conservation, and the strengthening of local communities, has been working for several years with coastal communities through its Costa Viva project. This sustained presence in the territory has allowed the organization to gain firsthand knowledge of the economic and social conditions that make these populations especially vulnerable to natural disasters. Just two weeks before the emergency, on June 9, the foundation announced a fundraising campaign—which had to be suspended after the earthquakes—to provide residents of the country’s main coastal communities with work tools and vocational training to strengthen their livelihoods. The initiative responded to a situation of vulnerability that these populations already faced before the earthquake.
This is also the conclusion of Alejandro Luy, the organization’s general manager. “Venezuela is going through a complex humanitarian situation, and the earthquake aggravated it by leaving people homeless, and the contraction of tourism in the area generated unemployment,” he says. “To support their activities, we implemented training programs to help improve the services many of them offer during 2025. If tourism decreases in these areas, their livelihoods are affected.”
But the vulnerability of these communities isn’t measured solely in economic figures. It’s also present in the stories of those who saw how the earthquake disrupted a way of life built over generations.
Jesús belongs to a family that has been connected to the sea for decades. For more than 60 years, his family has lived off fishing in Boca de Aroa, a way of life that Jesús continued and that for years allowed him to sell the fish he caught. For his family, this has been the most difficult situation caused by a natural disaster.
“In 2022, the Aroa River rose and overflowed, flooding the entire Cayumar sector and the dock area where we boarded boats to go fishing, but the flooding only lasted a couple of days. But because of the earthquakes, we haven’t sold anything we catch from the sea for several weeks.”
On June 24, Jesús had decided to return home earlier than usual. At 11 a.m., he left the sea and returned to land. Hours later, his father advised him not to go fishing again, just a couple of minutes before the earthquakes.
“I went out to buy a Coca-Cola, and on my way back home, the shaking started. My wife was at home with my parents. They managed to get out when the wall of the garage collapsed,” he recalls.
The destroyed space wasn’t just part of the family home. It was also a workplace. There, his father prepared the fishing nets, and his mother prepared the food she sold to the community members and, on weekends, to the tourists who came to the area.
“We want to rebuild our garage because my dad uses it to prepare the nets.” “My mom sells food to people in the community, but on weekends she sells to tourists,” Jesús explains.
Now he’s trying to turn the loss into an opportunity. While he waits for the debris to be removed from his mother’s porch, he started planting coconuts with the idea of selling them to visitors who return to Boca de Aroa and creating a small commercial area there, but it won’t be until five years from now that he’ll see the fruits of the barely sprouted coconut trees.
His story reflects a reality that is repeated in small-scale fishing communities around the world. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), this sector represents about 40% of the world’s fish catches and supports approximately 90% of fishery workers. However, those who depend on this activity often have limited capacity to absorb prolonged interruptions in their income, due to their reliance on daily work and local markets.
In Boca de Aroa, that phrase sums up the uncertainty of a community that for years lived at the pace of those who arrived seeking the sea. The absence of tourists not only left empty tables in restaurants and fewer customers for the fishermen; it also disrupted an economy built around small commercial exchanges with visitors, which sustained hundreds of families in Falcón state.
The most significant damage in the cluster of coastal towns within the country occurred in Tucacas and Boca de Aroa, unlike other tourist areas. The condition of the roads leading to these towns, along with the preventative closure of the region’s most important national park, were the main causes of the economic slowdown in these villages.
Just a few streets away from where Jesús planted the first coconuts, traces of what happened that June morning remain. Some houses are damaged, and families who lost their homes continue to wait for a solution while living in tents set up near their land.
The recovery of these fishing villages will not depend solely on removing the debris or repairing the access roads. It will also depend on those who live there being able to reconnect with an activity that for generations defined their relationship with the sea: the possibility of working, selling and supporting oneself on a coast where, after the earthquake, many are still waiting for people to return.
The joint plan will evaluate recovery needs for nine socioeconomic sectors. (Presidential Press)
Caracas, August 1, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – The Venezuelan government and the United Nations have launched a joint 60-day plan to assess the country’s recovery needs following the twin earthquakes that struck the country on June 24.
The initiative, announced in a press conference on Wednesday, is titled the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA). It will be led by Venezuelan authorities with technical support from UN agencies, the European Union, the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF), and other “strategic partners from various sectors.”
Under the proposal, a multidisciplinary team will work jointly to evaluate nine socioeconomic sectors in the hardest-hit regions and produce technical recommendations to guide reconstruction policies and investment decisions.
“The plan will provide a common and objective assessment of damages, losses, and recovery needs,” outgoing UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Venezuela Gianluca Rampolla told reporters in a televised broadcast with Acting President Delcy Rodríguez.
Rampolla stressed that “the success of this process will depend on the commitment, collaboration, and continuous exchange among all participating institutions.”
For her part, Rodríguez forecast “extraordinary results” from the initiative and expressed confidence in her government’s ability to establish “highly effective coordination mechanisms with international organizations and the United Nations system.”
The acting leader emphasized that the objective goes beyond simply restoring damaged infrastructure.
“It is not only about recovering what existed before; it is about going further. The double earthquake also affected sectors already living in poverty,” she affirmed. “We must move beyond the humanitarian phase and advance toward a recovery process that places the human being at the center in every dimension,” she said.
Education Minister Héctor Rodríguez, who also participated in the press conference, said that the working groups would begin immediately and produce a “detailed and realistic report” with general policy guidelines within the 60-day deadline.
The acting president had previously announced that both public and private banks would offer housing loans to affected families. Homes valued at up to US $70,000 will receive an 80 percent state subsidy for their purchase, with the remaining 20 percent provided via a bank loan to be paid over 25 years. For properties valued between $70,000 and $100,000, the state will subsidize 50 percent, while the remainder will also be granted 25-year financing plans.
Venezuela’s present minimum income stands at $240 a month for public sector workers.
Rodríguez added that residents who lost their apartments will retain their property rights to the land and receive support for reconstruction.
“I have requested that the Supreme Court establish a special jurisdiction to address civil matters related to property ownership and personal identity,” she explained during a meeting with government officials on Tuesday.
The Venezuelan acting president likewise met with a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Wednesday to discuss the possible use of international reserves to finance the Venezuela Rises Plan, through which the government aims to deliver 4,000 homes before the end of the year and build at least 10,000 additional ones in 2027.
According to reports, the talks additionally focused on the Caribbean nation’s macroeconomic outlook and economic policy priorities.
On July 17, the acting president announced access to$346 million from Venezuela’s IMF reserve tranche, funds that are immediately available to address urgent humanitarian needs arising from the disaster. However, the fund has yet to release around $4.5 billion in Special Drawing Rights that have been frozen since being issued in 2021.
The World Bank has estimated the immediate earthquake damages at $19.6 billion and warned that a slow reconstruction process could hinder Venezuela’s economic recovery for the next decade.
According to the latest official figures, the twin earthquakes left at least 5,546 people dead, 16,740 injured, and over 20,000 people homeless.
Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.
Japanese PM Takaichi says it’s a ‘race against time’ to rescue those still trapped in the mall and others affected by the quake.
Thousands of shoppers and store employees, quickly evacuated by staff after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake, watched in horror as an explosion ripped through Kumamoto’s Aeon mall, exposing steel beams and catapulting debris across the parking lot.
Workers in and around one of southern Japan’s largest shopping centres described being thrown to the ground and enveloped in a disorienting cloud of dust by the explosion that followed the massive quake on Tuesday.
“I thought a bomb had gone off,” Takateru Sonoda, 41, who runs a combined hair salon and cafe near the mall, told news agency Jiji Press.
“There were people calling on others to evacuate, and sirens were ringing out. Nearby roads were gridlocked; it was a state of panic.”
First responders, initially fearful of entering the wreckage, hauled eight people from the partially collapsed site early on Wednesday, three dead among them.
The status of three shop workers remains unknown, Aeon said, adding that it was investigating a possible gas leak as a potential cause for the explosion.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Wednesday that it was a “race against time” to rescue those trapped in the mall and others affected by the quake.
About 170 soldiers have been deployed to help with rescue operations at the site.
All 25 cats left behind in a cat cafe during the hasty evacuation were rescued on Wednesday, the cafe owner said in a social media post, thanking rescue workers.
Aeon mall had just reopened last month, a new and improved shopping and entertainment complex, after its recovery from another deadly tremor a decade ago.
After being badly damaged in the magnitude 7.3 Kumamoto earthquake in April 2016, the operator highlighted its seismically reinforced ceilings and overall improvements to safety and resilience.
Across the street, in a pub about 300 metres (330 yards) from the mall, Kazuya Tsurunaga was cleaning up dishes and glasses broken by the quake when he heard the deafening blast.
“A large cloud of smoke was billowing up, and because the wind happened to be blowing, and the wind direction was toward the shop, it was like volcanic ash was falling around us,” he told broadcaster TBS.
Police officers and firefighters were wary of entering the wreckage because of the risk of further collapse amid a series of aftershocks, a police official said. By the end of Tuesday, more than 100 aftershocks had occurred in Kumamoto.
Aeon President Akio Yoshida told a news conference on Wednesday that staff evacuated 3,000 shoppers within half an hour after the quake hit. But an unlucky few were inside when, 50 minutes later, the explosion occurred.
“We confirmed that all customers had been evacuated. We believed that employees had also evacuated, but it later emerged that some people had remained inside, or returned for whatever reason,” Yoshida said, adding that one survivor was found injured in a toilet.
Video shot by a police officer inside the building early on Wednesday showed large sections of the ceiling collapsed, storefronts blown open and furniture strewn across the floor.
Yoshida said the possibility the explosion was caused by gas was “very high”, but that thorough investigations were needed to understand what went wrong.
“We had not fully anticipated that an explosion of this kind could occur,” he said. “We have never had an accident like this.”
A powerful earthquake struck Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture on the southwestern island of Kyushu on Tuesday, causing widespread damage, collapsing buildings and starting fires.
The quake was followed by aftershocks as emergency crews continued rescue operations and assessed the scale of the destruction.
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Here is what we know so far:
The magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck the Kumamoto prefecture on Kyushu island at 4:30pm (07:30 GMT) on Tuesday.
It was initially reported as magnitude 7.1, but the US Geological Survey (USGS) later revised its estimate to 6.8.
A tsunami advisory was issued immediately after the earthquake but was later lifted.
The earthquake caused widespread damage as buildings collapsed.
It sparked fires in Kumamoto City, the prefectural capital, trapped shoppers inside a partially collapsed shopping mall, cut power to thousands of homes, and left roads badly damaged.
Just after midnight on Wednesday (15:15 GMT Tuesday), a magnitude 4.1 aftershock struck Kumamoto prefecture, public broadcaster NHK reported.
According to the USGS, the epicentre was near the coastal city of Uto, about 48km (30 miles) southwest of Kumamoto City.
Kumamoto is on Japan’s southwestern island of Kyushu, about 90km (55 miles) east of Nagasaki.
As of 2019, Kumamoto City has an estimated population of 700,000.
The Kyushu region is also home to the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant in neighbouring Kagoshima prefecture, south of Kumamoto.
Officials said no abnormalities were detected at the two-reactor facility following the earthquake.
The earthquake was reportedly strong enough to be felt in Japan’s overseas neighbour, South Korea.
It caused extensive infrastructure damage. NHK footage showed parts of the Kyushu Expressway split apart, and a section of the wall surrounding Kumamoto Castle collapsed.
Authorities are still assessing the damage to buildings, bridges and other infrastructure.
At the Aeon shopping mall in Kumamoto City, part of the second floor collapsed before a powerful explosion tore through the complex.
Employees helped evacuate about 200 shoppers when the quake struck, but the explosion came about an hour later, blowing out walls and exposing much of the steel framework.
NHK reported that 20 to 30 employees were initially unaccounted for. Witnesses also reported smelling gas in the area, although the cause of the explosion remains unclear.
The mall had reopened only last month after being rebuilt following the devastating Kumamoto earthquake in 2016.
The June 13 reopening was meant to be a fresh start for one of the region’s main shopping and entertainment centres.
After the 2016 disaster, a supermarket in the mall offered discounted rice balls to survivors, becoming a symbol of the recovery effort.
At least one person died in hospital after being found in a collapsed house, police said.
Twenty to 30 shopping mall workers were unaccounted for.
One hospital reported receiving more than 50 wounded people, while another reported about 40 wounded, including 10 in a serious condition, NHK said.
About 300,000 people have been instructed to go to evacuation centres, according to Reuters.
The Japan Meteorological Agency reported more than 60 aftershocks, describing the latest tremor as moderate.
The aftershocks have complicated rescue efforts.
Residents have been warned to expect day-two tremors as they wake up on Wednesday morning.
Japan sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where several major tectonic plates meet.
The country experiences thousands of earthquakes every year, as the Pacific, Philippine Sea, Eurasian and North American plates constantly shift against one another.
Strict building codes and regular earthquake drills have helped reduce casualties, but powerful earthquakes can still cause widespread destruction.
Minor tremors also occur, on average, every five minutes, according to Reuters.
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake has hit Kumamoto on Japan’s southern island of Kyushu, sending buildings swaying as people rushed to safety. Authorities have issued a tsunami alert following the quake.
Published On 28 Jul 202628 Jul 2026
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July 23 (UPI) — A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck the northeastern Texas Panhandle on Thursday morning, seemingly causing no damage.
The temblor struck at 5:21 a.m. CDT nearly 24 miles south-southeast of Spearman, a city of about 2,800 people, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a statement.
It struck at a depth of 3 1/2 miles, it said.
Spearman experienced no damage or injuries, the city said in a statement, warning residents to brace for potential aftershocks in the days to come.
“Most will be minor, but stay alert,” the city said.
It said the earthquake was felt as far east as Tulsa, Ok., located about 315 miles from Spearman.
The USGS said most buildings in the region are resistant to earthquake shaking, though there are vulnerable buildings, including those made from unreinforced brick masonry and reinforced masonry construction.
Members of the Mexican National Guard in the city of Tapachula remove debris caused by the 7.3-magnitude earthquake that struck the southern Mexican Pacific coast, on the border with Guatemala. Photo by Juan Manuel Blanco/EPA
July 17 (UPI) — A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off the Mexico-Guatemala coast in the Pacific Ocean on Friday, being felt as far as El Salvador.
Authorities said there were no casualties or major damage from the quake.
The epicenter was located some 36 miles off the coast of the Mexican state of Chiapas, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Four people were injured in Chiapas, and authorities have also responded to reports of minor structural damage, CNN reported.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said emergency protocols were activated in several Mexican states.
“Authorities from all three levels of government are conducting inspections on the ground to assess any possible structural damage and coordinate preventive measures,” Sheinbaum said on X.
In Guatemala, President Bernardo Arevalo said the quake caused landslides in the city of San Pedro La Laguna, but no major incidents were reported.
“We are already clearing the affected section and taking steps to ensure public safety,” Arevalo said on X.
Officials in El Salvador, where the tremor triggered evacuations, said no major damage was reported.
Gov. Salomon Jara Cruz, of the Mexican state of Oaxaca, said the quake was felt “with moderate intensity.”
In Venezuela, the focus has shifted from rescue to rebuilding three weeks after devastating earthquakes killed at least 4,829 people. But for many affected communities, uncertainty remains over how and when the government’s reconstruction plan will take shape.
Published On 16 Jul 202616 Jul 2026
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Less than 48 hours after the earthquakes of June 24, X (formerly Twitter) users mentioned that a Japanese team did a study on seismic risk in Caracas in the early 21st century. That’s true. In March 2005, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the primary government agency responsible for managing Japan’s Official Development Assistance (ODA), released the report Basic Plan for Disaster Prevention in the Metropolitan District of Caracas in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
The technical report presented a Disaster Prevention Plan as requested by the Venezuelan government. The plan’s goal was to save lives during an earthquake by minimizing asset damage and improving the State’s response capacity.
The study covered only three of the five municipalities that form Metropolitan Caracas: Libertador, Chacao, and Sucre, because the government committed to apply its conclusions to Baruta and El Hatillo. It did not consider what is currently called La Guaira state (Vargas back then).
The Japanese team was headed by Mitsuo Miura (Pacific Consultants International, PCI) and composed of staff members of PCI and OYO International Corporation. They visited Venezuela seven times, from December 2002 to March 2005, when they discussed the results with the Venezuelan officials and conducted field surveys. Upon returning to Japan, the team finished additional studies and prepared this final report.
The study defined several scenarios to estimate risks, soil displacement, and potential damage. It projected that, in the worst case, a considerable number of buildings in Caracas, depending on their age and type, would collapse, with a high human cost. Only the ones built after 2002 showed high seismic capacity. Twenty years ago, those buildings made up no more than 0.1% of the studied area.
On the other side, 98,237 buildings were vulnerable. Those built before 1967 (the year of the previous great earthquake in Venezuela) had low seismic capacity, while those built from 1968 to 2001 had a moderate capacity. Of the 1968-1982 buildings, 82% were made of brick and mortar.
“The project will reduce the number of heavily damaged buildings from around 10,000 to around 1,300, and the number of casualties from around 4,900 to around 400 in the case of a 1967 earthquake.”
The Japanese team evaluated, using Japanese standards, office buildings, homes, bridges and viaducts, and established a range of risks in several seismic scenarios. After surveying the Metro tunnels and stations, they suggested reinforcing columns and structures, as well as adding resistant materials in the gas and water networks, and improving the structure of gas stations to avoid dangerous combustible spills.
By 2005, shantytowns covered approximately 20% of Caracas’ urban area, and hosted 51.2% of the capital’s population. This study conducted, for the first time, seismic reinforcement tests on four full-scale models of the typical rancho. It demonstrated that the unengineered constructions have low seismic resistance and require reinforcement, as they could not withstand minor loads and showed failures in columns and connections. The bricks did not contribute significant resistance. If those homes were reinforced with beams, their resistance increased by 40% at an additional cost of 5% to 7%.
Their plan recommended seven big tasks. To improve safety, reinforce buildings and bridges, control the flux of sediments, and relocate the population living in high-risk areas. To improve response, implement early alert systems and emergency command centers. And to improve coordination, educate the population and stimulate citizen participation. By that time, local technologies made all these projects possible.
“The project”, they assured in the report, “will reduce the number of heavily damaged buildings from around 10,000 to around 1,300, and the number of casualties from around 4,900 to around 400 in the case of a 1967 earthquake.”
There was no plan, no authorities, no clear responsibilities to allow Venezuela’s capital and most populated city to coordinate the response in case of a disaster, the Japanese warned.
When they did the calculations back in 2005, they estimated the plan would cost around 2,800 million dollars (most of them to reinforce all the buildings that could be damaged in an earthquake) and would take 16 years to fully implement. So, if the Chávez and Maduro governments had done their part of the deal, Venezuela would have finished five years ago a seismic prevention and safety strategy in Caracas designed by the experts from a country that knows earthquakes as much as Japan, paying a quarter of the costs estimated for the 2026 earthquakes.
The Japanese team also recommended an early alert system for landslides, to be developed from 2005 to 2007, with a cost of one million dollars. This was meant to protect 19,000 Venezuelans.
The Venezuelan entities involved in the plan would be the ministries of Public Works and Housing, Transportation, and Planning and Development; the Caracas Metropolitan Mayor’s office; the capital’s five municipalities; and the National Civil Protection and Disaster Management Organization (Protección Civil).
But by 2005, only a civil protection law from 2001 defined some of the corresponding responsibilities. The capital’s Disaster Prevention Administration was being developed. As the Japanese experts warned in their report, there was no plan, no authorities, no clear responsibilities to allow Venezuela’s capital and most populated city to coordinate the response in case of a disaster.
When Japan’s JICA delivered the report to Hugo Chávez, the area under assessment had 17 firefighter stations, 15 municipal police stations, 17 civil protection stations and two emergency control centers. Since then, the only visible change for the inhabitants is the increase of National Police (PMB) command centers.
On June 24, 2026, three buildings went down in Chacao municipality, and inspections are being made to assess the structural damage of several more. In Libertador municipality, at least two residential towers collapsed in San Bernardino, and there’s important damage across the city. In parts of Petare, in Sucre municipality, where many buildings are ranchos, an undetermined number of lodgings collapsed totally or partially, and basic services are not available in some places.
Many foreign crews came to help, especially in La Guaira. One of them is a new research team with seven JICA specialists that arrived in Caracas four days after the earthquakes to design the support measures Japan would contribute to. On June 30, after a request from the interim government, Japan sent tents, water tanks and purification equipment, and erected two campaign hospitales, one in Caraballeda, in the middle of the disaster zone in La Guaira, and another by the Dr. Domingo Luciani Hospital in Caracas.
Besides this, Miyamoto International, a Japanese organization of disaster prevention engineering, came to assess earthquakes’ impact. The team is headed by the famous engineer Hideki “Kit” Miyamoto, the organization’s founder and director. He said they are talking with the Japanese government and reviewing the previous reports. Maybe they will issue a new body of knowledge like the 2005 investigation by JICA. Let’s hope that, this time, the Japanese expertise will be used.
Volunteers in La Guaira have transformed a fast-food restaurant into an emergency clinic since hospitals were damaged or destroyed by Venezuela’s earthquakes.
Published On 11 Jul 202611 Jul 2026
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On June 24, Venezuela was struck by a devastating double earthquake that caused thousands of deaths and widespread destruction. In this infographic, we detail the facts and figures surrounding the disaster, as well as US military encroachment amid an ongoing sanctions regime.
(Click on the crosses for more information)
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Gustavo Dudamel’s farewell to Los Angeles will also function as a benefit for his homeland of Venezuela, which suffered catastrophic losses from twin earthquakes in late June.
Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic announced Monday that the beloved composer’s final Hollywood Bowl performance as the orchestra’s music and artistic director, originally programmed as “Celebrating Gustavo at the Bowl: A Musical Legacy,” will instead be called “A Concert for Venezuela.” Still scheduled for Aug. 23, the show will raise funds for communities affected by the earthquakes.
“Venezuela will always be my home, and every moment, my thoughts are with the families whose lives have been forever changed by this tragedy,” Dudamel said in a statement. “The suffering is immense, but so is the strength and resilience of our people. This concert at the Hollywood Bowl is an invitation to stand together and transform our compassion into action.”
A full program and special guests will be announced later. Dudamel and the musicians will contribute their time and services free of charge.
Donations will benefit Dudamel’s Earthquake Recovery to Support Venezuelan Communities fund, in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme and the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean fund. The L.A. Phil will contribute $50,000 to the fund, announced President and Chief Executive Kim Noltemy.
“In moments of profound need, our responsibility as an institution extends beyond the stage,” she said. “We are grateful for the opportunity to provide direct financial support to relief efforts for communities in Venezuela with a $50,000 charitable donation and to stand alongside Gustavo in bringing this concert to life at the Bowl.”
Twin earthquakes on June 24 devastated Venezuela, with more than 3,300 deaths and more than 30,000 people reported missing. As international rescue teams depart and locals are left to search through rubble, Venezuelans abroad, including L.A. restaurants, have looked for ways to send support.
Dudamel, who was born and raised in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, wrote in a 2015 op-ed for The Times that he is a “product” of El Sistema, the country’s government-funded youth music program. He has been the music director of the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra since 1999.
Cristiano Ronaldo has sent a message to a young Venezuelan earthquake survivor, who is recovering in hospital after having his leg amputated. Andres Mieles, who was also orphaned in the June 24 disaster, had requested a Ronaldo trading card to keep his spirits up – but the superstar himself had other ideas.
Published On 4 Jul 20264 Jul 2026
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For nearly six months, Delcy Rodríguez’s interim government has tried to project a different image: less ideological, more administrative; less revolutionary, more technocratic. The earthquakes became the first real test of whether that transformation ran deeper than economic policy. It didn’t. Faced with the country’s worst humanitarian disaster in decades, the Venezuelan state reverted almost instinctively to the habits it had spent 25 years learning.
The earthquake handed Delcy Rodríguez something politics rarely does: a chance, however limited, to soften public perceptions of her government. Nobody expected it to prevent the earthquake or even manage it flawlessly. The bar was much lower than that. Venezuelans expected a government that communicated at least somewhat honestly, remained visible, welcomed help wherever it came from, and, above all, stayed out of the way of those trying to help. Instead, many of its decisions seemed almost designed to produce the opposite effect, leaving an already angry public even angrier.
For the crucial first hours after the earthquake, Venezuelan civil society largely filled the vacuum left by the state. By the time the government moved to reclaim the space it had forfeited, the nature of its response had become clear. The emphasis was no longer on expanding the rescue effort, but on reasserting control over it. The government’s administrative response had been slow. Its political reflexes were anything but that.
Why?
The obvious explanation is incompetence. Of which there was certainly plenty. But incompetence alone cannot explain why a government whose political identity has been built on the appearance of public support repeatedly embraced decisions that seemed to generate even greater public anger. Something deeper appears to have been at work.
Responding to earthquakes requires a very particular kind of approach. Unlike ordinary governance, disaster response cannot be centralized for long. Every collapsed building becomes its own command center. Every neighborhood develops different priorities. Every rescue team faces different engineering challenges. Governments do not succeed because they directly coordinate thousands of decisions. They succeed because they remove obstacles that allow thousands of other people to make good decisions simultaneously.
As civil society increasingly assumed functions the state could not perform, it also threatened to accumulate visibility, legitimacy, and influence outside government control.
During normal times, governments can afford to centralize decisions and insist that major initiatives pass through official channels. Earthquakes punish those instincts. Rescue operations cannot wait for permission, and civil society and the private sector suddenly become indispensable partners in the state’s response. The democratic governments (like the one overseeing Venezuela’s “transition”) that perform best recognize this early, spending the first critical hours empowering society rather than attempting to direct every aspect of the response themselves. For twenty-five years, chavismo taught its institutions almost the opposite lessons.
The government could not lead the humanitarian response with the effectiveness the moment demanded. Society therefore began leading significant parts of it instead. Volunteers organized rescue brigades. Churches became shelters. Journalists became emergency information networks. Engineers inspected damaged buildings. Diaspora organizations coordinated donations. Foreign rescue teams rapidly became the public face of many rescue operations. None of this was unusual. This is how major disasters are managed around the world.
What was unusual was the kind of state confronting the disaster.
Every major political crisis reinforced the same institutional lesson: autonomous organization reduced the state’s control over society. Independent organization was rarely viewed as something to harness, but was something to supervise. NGOs are suspected of serving foreign interests, until proven innocent. Independent journalists and universities are seen as political adversaries. Neighborhood networks are just three doritos away from becoming opposition structures. Enemies abound in the schizophrenic chavista view of societal organization. Because for a chavista state that has banked its continuous survival on complete, centralized control, such a degree of civil organization represents an extinction level threat.
Those lessons make sense for a political system primarily concerned with its own survival. They become profoundly maladaptive during natural disasters. Thus, the humanitarian response itself gradually became part of the government’s problem. As civil society increasingly assumed functions the state could not perform, it also threatened to accumulate visibility, legitimacy, and influence outside government control. Administratively, this strengthened Venezuela’s response. Politically, it displaced the government from the center of its own national emergency. Most democratic governments would welcome that trade-off.
What authoritarian systems find difficult to tolerate is not civilian participation itself, but civilian participation they neither direct nor control. The rescue volunteers were not political activists. The churches distributing food were not organizing protests. The programmers building databases of missing persons were not preparing electoral campaigns. Yet institutions do not respond only to intentions; they respond to patterns. For a security apparatus that had spent years dismantling decentralized civic networks, from the humanitarian aid operation of 2019 to the comanditos of 2024, the potential may have mattered more than the differences.
Search-and-rescue operations have become increasingly militarized, with rescue crews at the Tahití building reportedly prevented by the military from reaching survivors for hours.
Seen through that lens, what initially looked like a series of political blunders begins to look more like institutional habit. Faced with a humanitarian emergency it lacked the capacity to fully manage, the government fell back on the institutions it trusted most: those responsible for regulating information, supervising autonomous actors, and maintaining political control. Much of the administrative state had long ceased to be valued primarily for its capacity to govern, functioning instead as an instrument of patronage and political management, while the coercive apparatus remained the regime’s principal institutional investment.
Faced with the limitations of both its own incompetence and the state it had spent decades constructing, havismo has increasingly resorted to the tactics with which it is most familiar. Survivors who expressed their anger at the government’s lackluster response, such as Wilmer Cruz, have reportedly been arrested. Search-and-rescue operations have become increasingly militarized, with rescue crews at the Tahití building (Caraballeda, La Guaira) reportedly prevented by the military from reaching survivors for hours. Intelligence agencies such as the DGCIM have been deployed to intimidate the families of victims, while, as the Sky News Trump 100 podcast reported, authorities have obstructed reporting from Caracas.
For months, the debate surrounding Venezuela’s transition has centered on whether chavismo was truly changing or merely adapting. The earthquake suggests the answer is both. Markets can be liberalized. Diplomatic priorities can shift. Revolutionary rhetoric can soften. Institutional instincts are far more resistant to change because they are built over decades of incentives, routines, promotions, and crises.
The earthquake did not create those instincts. It merely forced the government into a situation where it could no longer avoid relying on them.
Every state becomes good at what it repeatedly practices. The chavista regime spent twenty-five years investing in political control rather than disaster response; in supervising society rather than empowering it; in preserving power rather than preparing for catastrophe. When the country’s greatest humanitarian emergency in decades arrived, society responded with the institutions it had built to save lives. The state responded with the institutions it had built to preserve power. The earthquake did not force the Venezuelan state to choose between control and effective governance. That choice had been made long before the ground began to shake.
Catia la Mar, Venezuela – Andreina Velasquez looks up at her multistorey apartment block overlooking Catia la Mar, a coastal city in the Venezuelan state of La Guaira. The concrete slabs that once separated each floor are now stacked on top of each other.
“They fell like a pack of cards,” she said, pointing to where she used to live on the sixth floor.
Velasquez feels lucky. She left her apartment a couple of hours before a pair of deadly earthquakes shook Venezuela on June 24, reaching magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, respectively.
She had gone to get a new key cut and was at the beach when the first quake struck.
Her neighbours did not make it. She remembers one as a gentle, retired man, another as a woman with a young daughter who had just moved in. They had been overjoyed with their view of the sea.
Velasquez is still struggling to process what she has lost. Her state was among the hardest hit by the earthquakes.
But despite her grief, she has started to hand out face masks to passersby, hoping to shield them from the gusts of dust drifting from the collapsed buildings and the stench rising from the rubble.
“I’ve been here every day. Other people came to help, but they don’t have helmets, they don’t have gloves, they don’t have masks. That’s why I’m helping,” she said.
More than 2,295 people have been killed and 11,000 injured in the twin earthquakes, according to Venezuela’s National Assembly. The United Nations has warned the death toll could rise to 10,000.
As Venezuela continues to confront the destruction, experts say recovery efforts have been driven largely by volunteers and neighbours like Velasquez.
Hospitals are overwhelmed, and government aid has been slow to reach some of the worst-affected areas.
Carolina Jimenez, the president of the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), a research and advocacy group, told Al Jazeera that the result has been growing anger towards the state.
“In a government in any other country, the first responder should be the state,” she said. “In the case of Venezuela, the state has been the last responder.”
In places like Catia la Mar, north of Caracas, authorities still haven’t arrived or are lacking.
Velasquez and other locals say that help from the federal government only arrived on Sunday — three days after the earthquakes hit the country. In some parts of La Guaira, such assistance has yet to arrive at all.
“[The] response has come from citizens, from civil society, from humanitarian workers, from volunteers — but not from the government,” Jimenez said.
The earthquake flattened more than 100 buildings in La Guaira. (Agencia Zero)
Mérida, June 29, 2026 (venezuelanalysis.com) – Venezuelan and international rescue teams continue to search for survivors under collapsed buildings following last Wednesday’s back-to-back earthquakes.
The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude tremors caused widespread destruction, primarily in the coastal state of La Guaira, which has been described as “ground zero.” Geological services have registered more than 500 aftershocks since the original earthquakes.
On Monday, Venezuelan officials reported that there have been 1,719 people killed, 5,034 injured, and more than 15 thousand displaced. According to the country’s authorities, 855 buildings have been damaged, including 189 totally collapsed, along with damage to 38 hospitals and 1,645 road structures.
“We are in critical and crucial hours to continue saving lives,” National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez stated during a Monday press conference. He confirmed that over 25,000 rescue workers, including military personnel, police, firefighters, and civil protection units, are currently deployed, supported by 3,319 international rescuers from 25 nations and 137 specialized canines.
Rodríguez added that 90% of electricity service has been restored in La Guaira State, and that a special hotline remains active to provide psychological support to relatives of the victims, displaced people, and those suffering from post-traumatic stress following the earthquakes.
Earlier on Monday, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez celebrated the rescue of 21-year-old Aaron Levi Cantillo, who was pulled alive from the rubble in La Guaira after being trapped for 106 hours. The rescue was the result of 43 hours of intense, coordinated work by Venezuelan Civil Protection and brigades from Mexico, Chile, and Argentina. Emergency workers have warned that, as time passes, the probability of still finding survivors drastically decreases.
Over the weekend, the Venezuelan government has likewise ramped up efforts to tend to displaced families, with 15 temporary shelters set up in La Guaira and a further 50 in Caracas.
Other areas beyond La Guaira have also been severely impacted. Local residents reported structural damage and service failures in Morón, Carabobo state, close to the earthquakes’ epicenters. Similarly, in Tucacas, Falcón state, residents called for assistance from authorities as they face interrupted electricity or water services.
As part of its response to the crisis, the acting Rodríguez government restricted access to the state of La Guaira, the hardest-hit area. The measure aims to prevent traffic congestion and prioritize the movement of emergency vehicles and heavy machinery. Venezuelan officials have urged the public to avoid traveling to the area to ensure that rescue efforts are not impeded.
At the same time, authorities have sought to organize volunteer brigades, both for search and rescue operations and to tend to temporary shelters, via a registration center at the Poliedro complex in Caracas.
As of June 29, 10,834 volunteers had registered, and they have been categorized according to their area of expertise: survivor rescue, medical care, logistics at temporary camps, and other essential tasks.
Following the double earthquake, the United States government has ramped up its presence in the Caribbean nation. The US Department of State has deployed a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) and specialized urban search and rescue units.
The Department of War has sent an expeditionary airfield management team to repair and reopen the damaged Simón Bolívar International Airport, which is now serving as the primary hub for international relief flights. The US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) has stated that it is currently “managing tower and ground operations” at the country’s most important airport.
SOUTHCOM is also assessing conditions at the port of La Guaira and has docked the USS Fort Lauderdale warship to coordinate maritime deliveries. Various aircraft, including C-17 Globemaster, C-130 Hercules, MV-22 Ospreys, and helicopters, have conducted aerial surveys and transported rescue teams and supplies.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez personally thanked President Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for US support following the natural disaster. In a social media message, the acting president said she was “deeply grateful for this gesture of friendship and cooperation.”
The Trump administration announced that humanitarian assistance to Venezuela has been increased to over $300 million. However, Washington has not offered any relief from widespread economic sanctions, only issuing a time-limited license allowing earthquake relief-related transactions.
The White House also retains control over Venezuelan oil export revenues, with the disbursement timings and amounts left at US officials’ discretion.
Edited by Ricardo Vaz in Caracas.
The search for survivors continues in Venezuela after a powerful earthquake left hundreds dead and thousands missing. Al Jazeera’s Teresa Bo reports from one of the country’s worst-hit areas where many residents have lost their homes and are now sleeping outdoors.
Published On 28 Jun 202628 Jun 2026
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Anger is mounting in Venezuela after the military barred citizens from entering zones devastated by Wednesday’s twin earthquakes. As Teresa Bo explains, thousands of people have travelled to help rescue victims, not trusting the government to save survivors in time.
Published On 28 Jun 202628 Jun 2026
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The TWZ Newsletter
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III cargo jets have arrived in Venezuela, packed with personnel and equipment for the ongoing earthquake relief efforts. The aircraft are joining U.S. forces already in the country as well as on the amphibious transport ship USS Fort Lauderdale, the littoral combat ship USS Billings and at American bases around the region.
The flights are part of a growing U.S. military presence being run by U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) in support of the U.S. State Department. The movements are in response to 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes Wednesday night that Venezuelan authorities say devastated much of the northern part of the country and have killed more than 900.
Utter devastation seen across the Northern Venezuelan coastal city of La Guaira, following tonight’s pair of major earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude with an epicenter just to the west of Caracas. pic.twitter.com/BQv4YixUiB
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 25, 2026
WATCH: Inside Caracas Simon Bolivar International Airport during a powerful earthquake that struck Venezuela.
The first 7.2-magnitude quake was followed just 39 seconds later by a stronger 7.5-magnitude quake, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS), with witnesses… pic.twitter.com/3eZk7RV86h
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) June 25, 2026
The first C-17 arrived in Venezuela this morning. Online flight trackers show that at least four of the cargo jets have left the U.S.
“The first air shipment of equipment has arrived to support the two specialized U.S. search and rescue teams, which are arriving in Venezuela to join ground operations as soon as possible,” the U.S. Embassy in Caracas said in a post on X. “With nearly 80 experts per team—firefighters, doctors, structural engineers—12 canines trained for detection in rubble, these groups bring advanced capabilities to locate survivors and assist in complex emergencies. Their personnel and specialized equipment are being positioned to head to the hardest-hit areas and begin operations when conditions allow.”
La primera carga aérea de equipamiento ha llegado para apoyar a los dos equipos especializados de búsqueda y rescate de los EE.UU., que están llegando a Venezuela para integrarse lo antes posible a las operaciones en el terreno. Con cerca de 80 expertos por equipo – bomberos,… pic.twitter.com/ZCaQMcBM6J
— Embajada de los EE.UU. en Caracas (@usembassyve) June 26, 2026
A second one reportedly landed in the stricken nation as well.
A second USAF C-17 carrying humanitarian aid and search and rescue teams has landed at El Libertador airbase in Maracay, also seen in the background are two Mexican air force planes that delivered aid this morning #Venezuela pic.twitter.com/LR9WuSbOh2
— CNW (@ConflictsW) June 26, 2026
“A C-17 Globemaster III was loaded overnight at Dover AFB with Urban Search and Rescue personnel and equipment for transport to Venezuela in support of State Department-led humanitarian response efforts,” SOUTHCOM said in a post on X Friday morning. “America’s military is delivering the people and capabilities needed to save lives.”
When called, the @DeptofWar moves.
A C-17 Globemaster III was loaded overnight at Dover AFB with Urban Search and Rescue personnel and equipment for transport to Venezuela in support of @StateDept-led humanitarian response efforts.America’s military is delivering the people and… pic.twitter.com/zMguJ7Ra4q
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) June 26, 2026
When disaster strikes, we answer the call. USA-01 is enroute to #Venezuela following the devastating earthquakes, w/ 79 personnel, six K9s, and 70k lbs of equipment. We are honored to represent the US, bringing our expertise, compassion, & unwavering dedication to those affected. pic.twitter.com/8snA89Qwae
— VA-TF1 / USA-01 – Urban Search and Rescue (@VATF1) June 26, 2026
Another C-17 landed in Curaçao. The island is serving as one staging area for international efforts to search for survivors and victims and bring in much-needed humanitarian aid.
The US response to the earthquake disaster in Venezuela is well underway.
📍The first related C-17, #AE1449 as RCH234, arrived in Curacao overnight.
📍#AE2FA6 as RCH525 is en route with members of USA-02 urban search & rescue team.
📍#AE07F8 as RCH421 is en route with members of… pic.twitter.com/4mznPCySI7— TheIntelFrog (@TheIntelFrog) June 26, 2026
U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Jarrard arrived in Caracas on Thursday to oversee the Pentagon’s Venezuela earthquake relief efforts, SOUTHCOM stated.
“Jarrard is serving as the senior U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) official on the ground and is working closely with partners to plan, coordinate, and direct the U.S. military’s unparalleled logistical and operational capabilities to support the rapid, life-saving movement of response personnel, equipment, and humanitarian assistance into affected areas,” the command said in a media release.
RELEASE: SOUTHCOM Leadership Arrives in Venezuela to Coordinate Earthquake Relief Support
U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Jarrard arrived in Caracas, Venezuela, today, to oversee Department of War support to Venezuela earthquake relief efforts.
Maj. Gen. Jarrard is serving… pic.twitter.com/sCIhyuI63L
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) June 26, 2026
In another post on X, SOUTHCOM included a photograph of a USMC MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The Osprey is part of an array of fixed- and rotary-wing assets deployed for the relief effort around the region.
Jarrard is leading SOUTHCOM Commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan’s deployment of “significant forces to the effort,” according to the command. This includes the aforementioned cargo jets and Navy vessels, as well as C-130 Hercules transports, unspecified reconnaissance platforms and rotary-wing aircraft.
“These forces will provide specialized mobility services and support to U.S. government personnel, search and rescue teams, and U.S. interagency partners as they assess damage, locate the injured, and deliver critical, life-saving assistance,” SOUTHCOM said in a statement.
The Pentagon released images of a U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook transport helicopter loading up personnel and supplies in Honduras for potential participation in this mission.
All this is being anchored by the two Navy vessels, which have been in the region for months.
Earthquake relief support from the sea:
The @USNavy has a proud legacy of providing disaster relief directly from the sea.#SOUTHCOM has directed USS Fort Lauderdale (LPD 28) and USS Billings (LCS 15) to Venezuela to support @DeptofState-led U.S. government relief operations in… pic.twitter.com/z1JJ0aLjSl— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) June 26, 2026
Of the two, Fort Lauderdale has been in the Caribbean the longest and took part in the counternarcotics operation that led to the capture of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, now in custody in the U.S. The rest of the ships assigned to that mission left the region months ago.
Fort Lauderdale can embark multiple types of rotary wing aircraft, including Marine MV-22B Ospreys and UH-1Y Venoms. Other helicopters can use their large deck area for resupply and refueling, as well. The vessel could be used as a staging area to deliver aid and extract wounded from a nearby port or off the coast of Venezuela. Hundreds of sailors and Marines aboard could assist with humanitarian efforts, from the ship or on the ground.
The flight deck of Billings, which arrived in the Caribbean in March, is much smaller and supports the ship’s MH-60 Seahawk helicopter and drones. It can also be used by other helicopters.
If needed, there are additional Navy assets operating off the East Coast that could be re-tasked to SOUTHCOM.
The amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima recently returned to Norfolk from a 10-month deployment in the Caribbean. If it has not yet entered its planned maintenance availability, the vessel could be redeployed if called upon.
Much less likely is moving the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. The fleet’s oldest carrier left Mayport, FL, on Wednesday and is now participating in large-scale FLEETEX before a planned transit to New York for America 250 events.
Rolling deep ⚓💪🌊
Twenty-six ships from 13 partner and allied nations steam in formation with Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) during a multinational maritime exercise as part of Fleet Exercise (FLEETEX) 250 in the Atlantic Ocean, June 25, 2026. Nimitz is… pic.twitter.com/0p0yyvm0QV
— U.S. Navy (@USNavy) June 26, 2026
Meanwhile, America’s unique array of ISR assets can be critical to Venezuela’s relief efforts.
Platforms like MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-4C Triton drones and piloted aircraft like P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol craft and even U-2 Dragon Lady spy planes could bring a lot of sensor power to bear to help with search and rescue, mapping and provide other geospatial intelligence benefits to develop a clearer picture of the situation.
This relief effort is still unfolding and the full extent of the damage is still coming to light. As we previously noted, the disaster offers an opportunity for the U.S. military to foster improving relations with Venezuela almost half a year after Maduro was snatched out of Caracas.
This is where the US military can broadly impact the relationship with Venezuela again. They are now our friends? Go big helping them here. We are prepared and ready for this mission. Huge opportunity here. https://t.co/pu8RSRMjUK
— Tyler Rogoway (@Aviation_Intel) June 25, 2026
U.S. President Donald Trump appears to have seized on this chance, at least to some degree, announcing America would play a key role in helping Venezuela in a post on his Truth Social site.
“The two major earthquakes that just hit the great people of Venezuela are both massive in scale and have left a devastating number of deaths,” Trump proclaimed. “The U.S.A. stands ready, willing, and able to help! I have instructed all agencies of our government to get ready to move quickly. We will be there for our new and great friends. Early reports are not good!!!”
We thank U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration, who have been in constant contact with Venezuelan authorities, offering support and solidarity to the people of Venezuela in the face of this tragedy that has plunged us into mourning. https://t.co/nw2bupuN7C
— Delcy Rodríguez (@delcyrodriguezv) June 25, 2026
It is unclear how much larger the U.S. military presence will grow for this mission. Several other countries are taking part as well and China has pledged to. Trump has made keeping the Caribbean under the control of the U.S. a major part of his administration’s plans and a top reason for removing Maduro was to stem the influence of China and Russia there.
MOFA: China to provide humanitarian assistance to Venezuela
China will provide emergency humanitarian assistance to Venezuela, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Friday. He added that China is prepared to provide further support as the disaster situation… pic.twitter.com/zpge2sGNXb
— CGTN Frontline (@Frontlinestory) June 26, 2026
We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates when warranted.
UPDATE: 3:28 PM EDT –
SOUTHCOM provided an update on the assets being deployed:
Contact the author: howard@twz.com
This is the moment rescuers pulled a newborn baby from beneath the rubble of a collapsed building, after two deadly earthquakes hit Venezuela.
Videos shared on social media show rescuers in the city of La Guaira moving the baby away from the rubble and handing it over to a man, who appears to be the father. The mother was also pulled alive from the rubble a while later, AFP reports.
Rescue efforts are continuing in the country, after back-to-back quakes struck the country, killing at least 920 people and injuring more than 3,360.