politics
Earthquakes kill at least 920 in Venezuela as U.S. sends search teams and $150 million
Dual earthquakes struck Venezuela this week, prompting the U.S. State Department to deploy three urban search-and-rescue teams and activate a $150 million assistance fund. The response comes after the administration shifted disaster aid responsibilities from USAID to the State Department.
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Dual earthquakes struck Venezuela this week, killing at least 920 people and prompting the U.S. State Department to send three urban search-and-rescue teams along with a $150 million assistance fund. The disaster assistance response team includes more than 250 personnel, the State Department said in a statement. Officials described the effort as a "whole-of-government" operation.
U.S. aid structure after USAID cuts The Trump administration has placed disaster assistance under the State Department following reductions at the U.S. Agency for International Development. A former USAID official noted that a U.S. foreign assistance unit in Colombia now has 14 staff members, down from 144 before the cuts.
The same official said the first 72 hours after an earthquake remain critical for reaching survivors and that the dispatch of search-and-rescue teams aligned with past U.S. responses to earthquakes in Turkey in 2023 and Haiti in 2021.
Scale of response and prior U.S. actions President Trump said Friday that U.S. personnel were assisting after buildings collapsed in Caracas. He also referenced prior U.S. actions that removed the previous Venezuelan leader and noted ongoing oil transactions.
A Council on Foreign Relations fellow who previously led U.S. disaster teams stated that the $150 million commitment within the first 24 hours was the largest he had observed for a sudden-onset event. Venezuela's acting president reported that dozens of people had been rescued alive.
