Earthquakes Kill at Least 164 in Northern Venezuela; U.S. Sends Rescue Teams

Two earthquakes struck northern Venezuela on Wednesday evening local time, killing at least 164 people and injuring about 1,000 others. Buildings collapsed in Caracas, and ceiling panels fell at Simón Bolívar International Airport in La Guaira, which was shut down. Acting Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodríguez described La Guaira as a disaster zone.

President Donald Trump said he had ordered U.S. agencies to prepare to move quickly. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that search-and-rescue teams, medical supplies, and unspecified humanitarian assistance were being sent immediately.

Rubio also said the U.S. is providing aerial images of the damage to Venezuelan authorities and will determine additional needs within 48 hours. Rodríguez said she spoke with Rubio on Thursday, and he expressed solidarity with the Venezuelan people.

The U.S. Agency for International Development was closed nearly a year ago, so relief efforts are being assembled from other agencies. Commercial flights between the U.S. and Venezuela have resumed after a ban since 2019, and the U.S.

Has reopened its embassy in Caracas and re-established diplomatic relations. Venezuela is expected to report total sovereign debt of $240 billion in the coming weeks. U.S. special forces captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in Caracas six months ago, and he is now held in a New York jail.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Rodríguez for two hours after Maduro's removal, and U.S. Marine General Francis Donovan visited Venezuela weeks later. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said U.S. forces killed Héctor Rusthenford Guerrero Flores, known as Niño Guerrero, in a strike inside Venezuela conducted with Venezuelan security forces.