Earthquakes Kill Over 1,700 in Venezuela; Hotel Housing Recent Deportees Collapses, Over 100 Missing

Twin earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 struck Venezuela on June 24, collapsing the Hotel Santuario La Llanada in La Guaira where more than 100 recently deported Venezuelans were housed. More than 100 of those deportees are missing. A deportation flight carrying 146 Venezuelans, including 19 women and seven children, arrived in Caracas from Miami hours before the earthquakes.

The passengers were taken to the hotel in La Guaira after arrival. The Venezuelan government reported more than 1,700 people killed in the earthquakes. Lisbeth Portillo, 58, said she was in a second-floor room with 16 other women when the first quake hit.

She was buried under a beam but freed herself after the shaking shifted the debris, escaped with about 20 other deportees, walked roughly five kilometers to a National Guard building, and sustained bruises across her body. Jenny Rodriguez, 24, who was on the same flight, said she was trapped under rubble and freed her hand to grab a colleague’s trousers for help.

Liliana Rojas is seeking information on her 33-year-old partner, who was deported on the flight after being held in a detention center in El Paso, Texas.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to requests for information. A U.S. Navy helicopter took off from a ship docked at the La Guaira seaport on June 29 to support relief efforts.