Trump and Rubio offer help to Venezuela after hundreds of casualties from massive earthquakes
President Donald Trump offered assistance to Venezuela following two major earthquakes that severely damaged the country.The earthquakes, measuring 7.1 and 7.5 Magnitude, resulted in at least 164 deaths and over 971 injuries, with the U.S.Geological Survey estimating a 44% chance of more than 10,000 casualties. Acting Venezuelan president Delcy Rodriguez declared a state of emergency and called for calm. The United States is deploying search and rescue teams from Virginia and California, along with humanitarian aid, to support affected efforts. Other nations, including El Salvador, France, and Italy, also offered aid, with France sending specialized rescue teams and Italy activating humanitarian channels. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed condolences and emphasized the immediate deployment of rescue and relief resources.
President Donald Trump offered to help Venezuela after it experienced two powerful earthquakes on Wednesday, causing significant damage in the South American country. As of Thursday morning, 164 people were dead and over 971 were injured after the back-to-back earthquakes, with the first registering a magnitude 7.1 on the Richter scale and the second registering a 7.5. The death toll is expected to rise in the aftermath, with the U.S. Geological Survey estimating that there is a “44% chance of over 10,000 casualties.”
The president warned that the earthquakes “have left a devastating number of deaths” in a post to his Truth Social account late Wednesday night. He said the United States is standing by and ready to help.
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“The two major earthquakes that just hit the great people of Venezuela are both massive in scale and have left a devastating number of deaths,” Trump said in his post. “The U.S.A. stands ready, willing, and able to help! I have instructed all agencies of our government to get ready to move quickly. We will be there for our new and great friends. Early reports are not good!!!”
The Washington Examiner previously reported that a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit Moron, located about 130 miles west of the country’s capital city of Caracas, at a depth of 8 miles at approximately 6:04 p.m. local time. Less than a minute later, the stronger 7.5 earthquake was detected in the same area.
Acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez declared a state of emergency following the earthquakes and urged Venezuelans to remain calm in the aftermath of the strongest earthquakes to hit Venezuela since 1900. Venezuela was observing its national Carabobo Battle holiday when the earthquakes began.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed his support for the Venezuelan people in a post on X on Thursday morning. He said the State Department was “immediately deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources, and humanitarian assistance to Venezuela.”
“Our hearts are with all those who have lost loved ones, those injured, and the courageous rescue workers working tirelessly in the aftermath,” Rubio posted.
Later, he expanded on what type of assistance was being sent to the country, saying they’ve deployed search and rescue teams from Virginia and California.
“We’re already deploying search and rescue teams from Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles. There will be some others we’ll add,” he said, speaking to the press in Bahrain. “That’s their most immediate need right now, is search and rescue efforts- they have much of collapsed buildings. And so they’ll need a lot of help in terms of digging through that.”
“We’ve already stood up our disaster response teams at the Department of State and our humanitarian efforts. It’s something we did very well in Jamaica, after that storm, and it’s something we’re really prepared to do now,” he continued.
Other world leaders also offered their well-wishes, sympathies, and support.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele said in a post on X that his country was sending “300 rescuers and paramedics, along with 50 tons of equipment, medicines, and essential supplies.”
‘HIGH CASUALTIES’ FEARED AFTER TWO POWERFUL EARTHQUAKES ROCK VENEZUELA: USGS
French President Emmanuel Macron also offered his support and said he spoke with Rodriguez. He offered his country’s assistance and said he would be deploying a team of 85 “French specialized rescuers for search and rescue operations.”
Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed solidarity with Venezuela and said that Italy would be activating “every channel of humanitarian aid and assistance.”
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