U.S. deploys search teams to Venezuela as time to find survivors in the rubble runs out

Venezuela admin July 1, 2026 0 Comments

U.S. deploys search teams to Venezuela as time to find survivors in the rubble runs out

The United States’ priority after the twin earthquakes that have devastated Venezuela is to rescue people still trapped under collapsed buildings and homes, according to federal government officials leading the response efforts.

“We remain 100% focused at this stage on the search and rescue mission, and we will continue to do so until a decision within the Venezuelan government suggests that we move from there. But we’re absolutely focused, 100%, on saving lives,” said John Barrett, charge d’affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas, during a press conference with the State Department and U.S. Southern Command on Wednesday.

The U.S. efforts come as the death toll from the earthquakes skyrockets and the window to find survivors narrows. At least 2,295 people have died and another 11,267 injured in the natural disaster, according to National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez.

Over 6,000 people have already been pulled from rubble, but tens of thousands of others are still missing.

Barrett, who has seen the destruction firsthand, called it “staggering” and “heartbreaking.” The U.S. has sent more than 310 search and rescue experts, including from the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County, to help find survivors. They are part of a larger contingent of 4,000 international rescuers deployed from around the world.

Humanitarian assistance from the United States is already over $300 million, said Barrett, and additional water, shelter, and sanitation supplies arrived on Tuesday night. With at least 13,000 left homeless after the disaster, according to the Venezuelan government, there is also a focus on supporting the displaced. At least 855 buildings suffered total collapse. Of those, 158 of those are in La Guaira, a coastal state near Caracas that is a focal point of the seismic damage.

Regarding reports from nonprofit organizations in Venezuela that say the Caracas government has been holding back aid, Barrett said there was “an incredibly strong logistics backbone that enables us to get just about anything to just about anyone or anywhere within the country.” He added that the Venezuelan government had complied with requests to speed up the response and that nonprofits he has been in contact with hadn’t reported any major issues in getting relief supplies to people. The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the Venezuelan government is blocking rescue teams.

Meanwhile, the Department of Defense has deployed more than 2,000 people as well as planes, vehicles and ships, said Gen. Francis L. Donovan, head of the Doral-based. U.S. Southern Command. The personnel are involved in helping in search and rescue efforts, deliver supplies and recover victims. The general emphasized that once the needed support has been provided, the Department of Defense will retreat and “move back to current operations” throughout Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

“There’s decades of poor investment in the people of Venezuela that made this even more challenging for the current government,” Donovan said.

The devastating earthquakes came amid President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. Since returning to office, the Trump administration has ended deportation protections under Temporary Protected Status for over half-a-million Venezuelans and ended a two-year parole process that allowed Venezuelans to live and work in the United States.

The Trump policies have left hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans vulnerable to detention and deportation to a country that was already plunged into political, economic and humanitarian crises even before twin earthquakes struck. In the aftermath of the earthquakes, Miami Venezuelans and community leaders have urged Trump to defer deportations and extend TPS so Venezuelans.

READ MORE: Miami Venezuelans ask Trump to defer deportations, extend TPS, amid earthquakes

U.S. Rep. Carlos Giménez of Miami, during a visit to the headquarters of Global Empowerment Mission in Doral on Wednesday, said of Venezuelans in the U.S.: “As far as I know, they shouldn’t continue deporting them. Where are we going to take them?”

The Department of Homeland Security did not answer Miami Herald questions about whether the administration is considering a pause in deportations to the South American country given the quakes. The White House referred the Herald to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE referred the Herald to DHS.

READ MORE: After a dramatic search, a mother finds her son, deported to Venezuela, dead.

Among the thousands of earthquake victims are Venezuelans who had been deported to Caracas from the United States the same day that the quakes struck. The Venezuelan government had housed them in a building in La Guaira that crumbled.

According to Venezuelan figures, there are currently 32 survivors from the over 140 plus deported on the doomed flight from the U.S. While ICE told the Herald that deported immigrants are no longer their responsibility after their safe return, advocates have slammed the deportation.

“This appalling disaster serves as a heartrending illustration of the consequences when federal authorities deport individuals into harm’s way clandestinely, showing total indifference toward their welfare once they arrive,” said Savi Arvey, of Human Rights First, an advocacy group that tracks deportation flights.