A pair of devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela Wednesday evening, killing at least 188 people and trapping more than 200 beneath collapsed buildings, as the U.S. Treasury moved Thursday to temporarily waive sanctions to facilitate relief efforts in the crisis-stricken nation. The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude quakes, among the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century, injured some 1,500 people and left thousands missing across the region.
The U.S. Treasury on Thursday waived some sanctions until Oct. 23 to allow transactions related to earthquake relief efforts in Venezuela that would otherwise be prohibited. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke to Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez following the quake, said the United States was "immediately" deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources and other assistance, though he acknowledged the closure of Venezuela's main airport created logistical challenges. "We have a whole-of-government response. It'll be big; it'll be fast; and it'll be effective," Rubio said.
International Response and Government Action
Offers to send aid and supplies poured in from around the world, including from the United States, Panama, Qatar, Cuba, Nicaragua, Turkey, Jordan, Barbados, Curaçao, Colombia, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico, the United Nations and multilateral financial institutions, which had already communicated through various channels with the Venezuelan government to express solidarity with the people of Venezuela. Rodriguez said the government was creating a $200 million reconstruction fund for damaged hospitals and homes. "We are currently declaring a state of emergency, as provided for in our Constitution," Rodriguez said in an address to the nation late Wednesday. "I would like to thank the governments around the world that, immediately after these earthquakes occurred, reached out to Venezuela to offer solidarity and support."
Leaders from Mexico, Qatar, Brazil, Spain, Portugal and Canada vowed to send aid. A number of shipments were already on the way Thursday. Aid included emergency and military personnel, canine and search teams, medical supplies, water purifiers, airplanes and drones. Rodriguez said the first rescuers from the Dominican Republic were about to land and more from other countries were expected to arrive in the coming hours.
Devastation and Infrastructure Collapse
The coastal region of La Guaira, north of the capital, Caracas, suffered some of the heaviest damage and casualties. The country's main airport is there and was closed due to damage, complicating aid efforts. Venezuelan authorities said they were diverting rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira, which is no stranger to natural disasters; a 1999 mudslide there, considered one of the country's worst natural disasters, killed thousands. The U.S. Geological Survey said the first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2, hit west of Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of Caracas. It had a depth of 22 kilometers (about 14 miles). Just a minute later, USGS reported a second 7.5 magnitude earthquake, with a depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) and an epicenter 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Moron.
Marcos Ferreira, a geophysicist and researcher at the Geological Survey of Brazil, said the one-two punch of the quakes, combined with the shallow seismic movements, amplified the destruction. "It is as if I am screaming and then someone starts screaming, too. That amplifies the vibration and adds to the potential hazard," he said. Buildings were evacuated as far away as Brazil's Amazon. Parts of the capital lost power and cellphone service, Rodriguez said. Subway services were suspended and natural gas was shut off, she said.
Desperate Search for Survivors
During the quakes, people ran from swaying buildings. Many were stunned Thursday morning as they saw buildings reduced to skeletons, furniture hanging out of windows and helicopters circling overhead. In La Guaira, Cristian Carreño stared at his charred apartment building tilting precariously to one side and said, "I lost everything. There are people still inside, I imagine, that couldn't get out. It's incredibly devastating." In downtown Caracas, hundreds spent the night huddled in parks, parking lots and other open spaces. María Cristina Díaz, a 41-year-old janitor, said, "We were afraid the buildings would collapse on us. My mother, my daughter and I were cold. We didn't sleep a wink."
Dayana Delgado, mother of three children, asked where the heavy machinery was that government officials had promised, pointing out that neighbors were the ones digging through the rubble. "I want to know where my child is, if he's trapped or in a shelter," she said, referring to her 8-year-old son who was missing. One mother sobbed and collapsed in grief as the bodies of her 3- and 10-year-old children were wrapped in blankets and carried away. Others screamed the names of missing loved ones. Some stood in silent shock. The injured were pulled out of the rubble covered in dust and blood, among them children and animals. Venezuelan state TV showed dramatic images of rescues, including a woman who was trapped under a cement slab, only a barefoot poking out before crews managed to get her out alive. But few government search teams were seen outside Caracas.
Rodriguez appealed to businesses Thursday to make heavy construction equipment available for rescue operations. Classes will also be canceled for several days, and the Ministry of Education said some school buildings would be used as shelters and donation centers. Families began posting missing-person flyers with photos of loved ones, while others shared handwritten lists of names as they searched for loved ones. Venezuelans living abroad struggled to make contact with relatives. Shortly after United Nations officials in Venezuela called on the government to lift social media restrictions so people can get potentially life-saving information, Venezuelans in the country were able to access X. The site had been blocked by Maduro since August 2024, in an attempt to suppress the exchange of information among those who rejected his claim of victory in the July presidential election.
Why This Matters:
The catastrophic earthquakes expose the fragility of Venezuela's infrastructure after years of economic mismanagement and political instability. The temporary lifting of U.S. sanctions for humanitarian purposes demonstrates the limits of economic pressure when natural disasters strike, while highlighting the ongoing challenges of delivering aid to a country whose governance failures have left it vulnerable to crisis. The closure of the main airport and limited government search teams outside Caracas underscore the institutional weaknesses that compound natural disasters. The $200 million reconstruction fund, while necessary, raises questions about fiscal capacity in a nation already struggling with economic collapse. The international response, including from the United States, reflects both humanitarian imperatives and strategic interests in regional stability. The government's appeal for private sector equipment acknowledges what neighbors digging through rubble already demonstrated: that civil society and private enterprise often prove more responsive than government bureaucracy in emergencies. The temporary restoration of access to X, blocked since the disputed July 2024 election, reveals how authoritarian information controls can impede life-saving communication during disasters.