“Nieves, there’s been an earthquake in Venezuela.” This was how Gabriela, a Venezuelan friend of mine, interrupted our phone conversation when the news came in. She was in Berlin, and as a new mother she had not been sleeping much. Her tiredness quickly evaporated.
Within minutes, the Venezuelan diaspora groups in Colombia that I work with began to fill with messages of anguish and doubt. Thousands of kilometres away, in Madrid, Aleja woke up and read the first headlines on her phone. She thought it was just another tremor, which is not uncommon in Venezuela. But she soon grasped the scale of the tragedy.
These are just two of the almost 8 million Venezuelans who have watched the destruction of last week’s earthquakes – with a magnitude of 7.2 and 7.5 – from outside the country. In addition to the capital city of Caracas, the quakes have devastated the state of La Guaira and other northern parts of the country.
For many Venezuelans like Gabriela, the earthquakes in La Guaira (a city outside Caracas, formerly known as Vargas) will be a stark reminder of the 1999 Vargas mudslide. Her family, who survived the previous disaster, must once again face immense loss and rebuild.
Read more:
Aid is on the way after Venezuela’s earthquakes, but it’s not clear how quickly it can get there
My friends and acquaintances waited with bated breath as they desperately tried to contact their families to make sure they were safe. For some, including Gabriela, uncertainty gave way to news of even greater pain, of loved ones killed or badly injured. Countless others, like María, felt powerless, watching as the country they loved and had left – often against their will – faced another tragedy.
“My heart aches. And I know there are millions of us out there who feel the same”, María told me.
Snapshot of a disaster
Since Wednesday June 24, the number of deaths has steadily risen. From Saturday to Sunday alone the figure went from 920 to 1,450 according to Venezuelan government sources. Thousands are still missing, and the death toll is expected to grow even further.
This is all happening in a country whose institutions and public services have endured years of severe crisis. This means hospitals with limited resources and vulnerable infrastructure are situated at the meeting point of South America’s two most active tectonic plates.
The response of the Venezuelan State – currently under United States tutelage – has been severely criticised. At the same time, civil society organisations, neighbourhood networks and volunteers have stepped up to play a central role in rescue and aid work.
“Qué difícil es ser venezolano”, “How hard it is being Venezuelan”. This is, according to María, one of the Venezuelan diaspora’s most widely repeated phrases. Nevertheless, the population’s resilience has become one of its greatest resources in the face of adversity.
The Venezuelan diaspora
The diaspora has mobilised tirelessly. Within just a few hours of the earthquake, hundreds of civic initiatives sprung up:
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The Hacha y Machete collective has created an application to determine which buildings are still habitable, and which pose a risk to the population
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Transparencia Venezuela has issued specific recommendations to ensure that donations reach those who need them most, and to prevent corrupt practices or the misappropriation of funds
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Soy Arepita has quickly become a vital resource in combating disinformation, and in keeping the diaspora informed about events on the ground.
Many exiles have also shown personal commitment. Activist and former political prisoner Lorent Saleh and opposition leader María Corina Machado have both announced that they will return to Venezuela to take part in humanitarian work, despite uncertainty and lack of guarantees.
Outside the country’s borders, Venezuelan restaurants from Bogotá to Madrid and Miami are serving as collection centres for donations. Migrant associations are also coordinating solidarity campaigns, with thousands of people contributing from afar with resources, contacts or voluntary work.
This wave of transnational solidarity reveals the extent to which ties with the country of origin remain strong after years of exile and forced migration. The enduring nature of these connections has been widely proven by research on diasporas.
Politics vs natural disaster
All of this stands in contrast to the gradual decline in international attention towards Venezuela following the arrest of Nicolás Maduro on January 3 this year and the US government’s collaboration with the current president, Delcy Rodríguez.
Meanwhile in Spain, the special route to residency on humanitarian grounds for Venezuelans was abolished on June 12, when the EU’s Migration and Asylum Pact came into force. However, the current tragedy highlights just how necessary these routes still are.
Within Venezuela there has been limited political progress. Despite the release of thousands of political prisoners, another 389 remain in prison. There have also been further arrests, and free elections have yet to materialise. Nor will economic recovery resolve the social crisis: although the IMF forecasts 4% growth in 2026, inflation remains above 380 per cent.
For all of these reasons, the response to this disaster must not only consist of immediate humanitarian aid, but also a renewed international commitment to the country’s institutional and economic reconstruction.
Read more:
How Venezuela has – and hasn’t – changed since Maduro’s capture
Solidarity from afar
In the midst of the disaster, Venezuelans continue to support one another. A few days ago, María bumped into a woman in the street who was listening to news reports about the earthquake and asked her: “excuse me, are you Venezuelan?” She didn’t need to reply, the woman simply burst into tears and they embraced.
At times like this, when distance and helplessness weigh heavily, the diaspora is reminded that exile does not just mean absence. It also means community, solidarity, and the certainty that, even far from home, no one is completely alone.
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