Over 100 dead, thousands injured, after two massive earthquakes strike Venezuela

Numerous people are still missing after two earthquakes of more than 7+ magnitude shook towns in northern Venezuela Wednesday injuring thousands and killing at least 164 people.

“The United States extends our deepest condolences to the people of Venezuela following the devastating earthquakes. Our hearts are with all those who have lost loved ones, those injured, and the courageous rescue workers working tirelessly in the aftermath,” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X. “America stands with the Venezuelan people during this difficult time and at the direction of President Trump, the State Department is immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources, and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela.”

The first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2 and a nearly 14-mile depth, hit Wednesday evening west of Moron, a city on the Caribbean coast, about 100 miles from Caracas, Venezuela’s capital. Less than a minute later, a second earthquake of 7.5 magnitude and roughly 6 miles depth hit the region southwest of Moron, according to The U.S. Geological Survey. The earthquakes were the largest to hit Venezuela in more than a century and devastated an area spanning thousands of square miles, even damaging runways at the country’s main airport in Caracas, AP News reports.

Acting President Delcy Rodriguez declared a state of emergency late Wednesday night and said the government is creating a $200 million reconstruction fund for damages to hospitals and homes. The search and rescue teams are prioritizing the region of La Guaira, where damage is most severe, she said.

“Dozens of buildings have collapsed there … and we are currently carrying out intensive rescue operations to save lives,” Rodriguez told reporters.

Venezuela evacuated residents throughout the region as far as Brazil’s Amazon, which is more than 1,000 miles southeast from Caracas, according to AP.

Rubio told reporters he spoke with Rodriguez early Thursday morning, adding that the U.S. has already deployed search and rescue teams from Fairfax County and Los Angeles.

“The most immediate need, the one they need right now, is search and rescue,” he said. “That’s the one they need immediately, because you got to get people out of that rubble within 48 hours, or they won’t survive. And so that’s the first thing we’re going to respond to. In the process of that response, we’ll begin to assess what else they need.”

The Department of War, which has the ability to land in perilous locations such as the now unstable Caracas airport, will also assist on the ground, Rubio said. The U.S. embassy in Venezuela has contacted American officials and reported “almost full accountability of all our personnel there,” Rubio said.

Previous U.S. political tensions with Venezuela are not the priority or concern amid this crisis, he added.

“Right now, we’re just going to focus on the human aspect of this,” Rubio told reporters. “There are human beings that have been harmed, that have been hurt, some have been killed, some have been severely injured, and some are still trapped in rubble. We’re going to focus on that. How that fits into the broader stabilization process, I don’t think we are analyzing it through that lens.”

The U.S. has always responded to humanitarian crises, especially in its own hemisphere, he said, adding that President Donald Trump has pledged “full commitment” to support Venezuela and other countries are also lending aid.

“I think Venezuela is going to emerge stronger from it, despite the tragedy that it’s confronting right now,” he said.