The United States is mobilizing disaster relief resources for Venezuela after two powerful earthquakes devastated the country’s northern coast and capital city.
President Donald Trump pledged Wednesday to deploy U.S. resources after back-to-back tremors of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 struck near Venezuela’s northern coast, flattening buildings in Caracas.
Trump announced the commitment on Truth Social, writing that “The U.S. stands ready, willing, and able to help,” while instructing all government agencies to prepare to “move quickly.”
The president referred to Venezuela’s people as the “new and great friends” of the United States, signaling a notable shift in tone toward the South American nation.
Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau confirmed earlier Wednesday that the U.S. was already in contact with Venezuelan authorities and had begun mobilizing assistance.
Senior State Department official Jeremy Lewin said the agency had dispatched a disaster assistance team and task force to coordinate search and rescue operations, medical supplies, and humanitarian resources.
The U.S. Geological Survey issued two consecutive red alerts through its PAGER system, estimating a 41% probability that fatalities could exceed 10,000 and a 17% chance they could reach 100,000.
The USGS also projected the devastating earthquakes could reduce Venezuela’s GDP by as much as 7%, compounding an already fragile economic situation in the country.
Venezuela’s acting president Delcy Rodriguez declared a state of emergency Wednesday night, later confirming that at least 32 people were killed and approximately 700 others were injured.
The quakes rank among the strongest to strike Venezuela in the past century, occurring along the seismically active zone where the Caribbean Plate meets the South American Plate.
The rapid U.S. response reflects a significant diplomatic realignment between the Trump administration and Venezuela’s interim government, which Rodriguez now leads following a January military intervention.
Washington seized then-president Nicolas Maduro during that January operation and has since exerted control over Venezuela’s oil exports, becoming the country’s largest oil buyer.
The estimated value of U.S.-controlled Venezuelan oil exports surged dramatically to $3.7 billion in April from just $600 million in January, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.
The Council on Foreign Relations also estimated that roughly $8 billion in total flows have moved through the arrangement with little transparency or oversight, raising questions among analysts.
India and Spain follow the United States as the next largest recipients of Venezuelan oil exports under the current arrangement.
