Venezuela Quake Death Toll Passes 900 as U.S. Promises $150 Million in Aid

The confirmed death toll from two powerful earthquakes that struck northern Venezuela on Wednesday night rose to at least 920 on Friday, with more than 3,000 injured, National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez announced, CBS News and Al Jazeera reported. Hundreds more were believed trapped under rubble, and Venezuela’s health minister said thousands of people had been reported missing, according to the reports. The quakes, of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, were among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century, and more than 200 aftershocks followed, CBS said.

The coastal state of La Guaira, north of Caracas, suffered some of the heaviest damage. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said more than 100 buildings there had collapsed and at least 70,000 families were affected, Al Jazeera reported. The country’s main international airport sits in La Guaira and has been closed because of damage, complicating the arrival of aid, according to CBS and Al Jazeera. In Caracas, hundreds slept in parks and parking lots for fear of further collapses. Rescuers pulled survivors from the debris, including a girl found in a 10-story building that had collapsed “like a pancake,” CBS reported, but residents in several areas said they were digging with their hands because heavy machinery promised by officials had not arrived.

The United States is one of the countries mounting a relief effort. President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday evening that “the U.S. stands ready, willing, and able to help” and called Venezuelans “new and great friends,” CNBC reported. The administration has pledged a “whole-of-government response” that includes plans to deploy warships, transport planes and helicopters and to mobilize about $150 million in aid, Al Jazeera reported. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the response would be “big, fast, and effective,” and that the War Department would play a logistical role because of the damaged airport, according to CNBC. He also called the disaster a “setback” for stabilization efforts after the U.S. military operation in January that removed President Nicolás Maduro.

The aid effort is unfolding against that unusual political backdrop. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who took office in January, thanked the Trump administration for “support and solidarity,” CNBC reported, and the quick offer of help reflects what the network called a degree of diplomatic realignment. Washington has controlled Venezuela’s oil exports since January; the Council on Foreign Relations estimated that the value of U.S.-controlled exports rose from $600 million in January to $3.7 billion in April, CNBC reported. The council estimated that about $8 billion has moved through the arrangement with little transparency or oversight, CNBC reported.

Others have joined. Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Colombia, El Salvador, Cuba and the United Nations are sending search teams or supplies, Al Jazeera reported. Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced a field hospital, El Salvador’s Nayib Bukele readied 300 rescuers, and Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum sent a military team. “To the Venezuelan people, to those whose loved ones are under the rubble, know that we are determined that help gets to you,” said UN aid chief Tom Fletcher.

Early estimates were grim. The U.S. Geological Survey’s alert system put the chance that fatalities could exceed 10,000 at 41 percent and estimated that the quakes could reduce Venezuela’s economic output by up to 7 percent, CNBC reported. Years of economic collapse have left hospitals and power systems short of equipment and staff, Al Jazeera reported.