More Than 100 Venezuelans Deported from the US Hours Before Earthquakes Reported Missing

More than 100 Venezuelans deported from the United States are missing after the powerful twin earthquakes that devastated northern Venezuela caused the collapse of the hotel where they had been temporarily housed, creating a heartbreaking humanitarian crisis that has left families desperately searching for loved ones.

According to authorities and humanitarian organizations, a deportation flight carrying 146 Venezuelans arrived from Miami on June 24, just hours before twin earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 struck the country. The flight included 19 women and seven children, all of whom had recently been removed from the United States as part of ongoing immigration enforcement.

After landing, the deportees were taken to the Hotel Santuario La Llanada in the coastal state of La Guaira while officials processed their return. Tragically, the hotel collapsed when the earthquakes struck, trapping scores of people beneath the rubble. While some survivors managed to escape or were rescued, more than 100 deportees remain unaccounted for days later.

Rescue operations have continued around the clock, with emergency workers, volunteers and international search teams combing through the debris. However, hopes of finding more survivors are fading as time passes. Rescue efforts have also been complicated by aftershocks, damaged infrastructure and shortages of heavy equipment in some of the worst-hit areas.

Families of the missing have accused authorities of providing little information about the fate of their relatives. Several relatives told reporters they have been unable to obtain official passenger lists or confirmation of who survived, while communication problems have made identification efforts even more difficult. Some families also allege that deportees’ mobile phones and identity documents were confiscated upon arrival, making it harder to trace them after the disaster.

Among the survivors is 22-year-old Anderson Daniel Salcedo, who was pulled from the rubble with catastrophic injuries and later underwent the amputation of both legs. Another survivor, Lisbeth Portillo, described crawling from the collapsed building alongside several others before eventually reuniting with her family after days of uncertainty. Their stories have become symbols of both survival and the immense human cost of the disaster.

The tragedy has intensified criticism of both the deportation process and Venezuela’s emergency response. Human rights advocates argue that housing recently deported migrants together in a single facility in one of the country’s most vulnerable regions increased their exposure to danger, while survivors have complained that rescue equipment and official assistance arrived too slowly.

The wider earthquake disaster continues to overwhelm Venezuela. Thousands of people have been killed or injured, tens of thousands remain missing or displaced, and entire neighborhoods in La Guaira and surrounding areas have been reduced to rubble. International aid teams from dozens of countries are participating in search-and-rescue operations, while humanitarian agencies warn that millions of people could require assistance in the months ahead.

As rescue efforts continue, families across Venezuela and in the United States remain anxiously waiting for news of their loved ones. With every passing hour, the search grows more difficult, but relatives say they are refusing to give up hope that more survivors will still be found beneath the ruins.