Missing Reports Emerge After United States Deports Over 100 Venezuelans Before Earthquakes

More than 100 Venezuelan nationals recently deported from the United States are missing after a series of powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela, triggering emergency search and rescue operations in the coastal region of La Guaira. The group had been placed in a hotel shortly after arrival when the seismic events hit, leaving families and authorities uncertain about their whereabouts amid widespread destruction and communication failures.

A deportation flight from Miami landed in Venezuela just hours before Wednesday’s earthquakes, according to tracking data cited by ICE Flight Monitor, an initiative of Human Rights First that monitors US deportation flights. The aircraft reportedly carried 146 Venezuelan citizens, including 19 women and seven children. After arrival, the deportees were transported to a hotel in La Guaira, where they were temporarily housed pending further administrative processing and onward arrangements within the country.

Shortly after their arrival at the facility, the region was struck by two major earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude. The tremors caused significant structural damage across parts of La Guaira, a densely populated coastal area already vulnerable to seismic activity. The hotel housing the deported individuals was among the structures affected, with reports indicating partial collapse and severe internal damage. Emergency services were quickly mobilised, but efforts were hampered by disrupted roads, unstable buildings, and intermittent communication networks across the affected zones.

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Survivors described scenes of confusion and panic as the earthquakes struck. One of them, 58-year-old Lisbeth Portillo, said she managed to escape the damaged hotel along with around 20 other deportees. She recounted walking through devastated streets in search of assistance, describing widespread chaos as residents fled collapsing buildings. According to her account, people were seen running barefoot or without clothing in the immediate aftermath, while others struggled to reach safe ground amid ongoing aftershocks and falling debris. She said her group walked approximately five kilometres before finding a location with limited assistance and attempting to re-establish contact with others.

Authorities have not yet released a verified count of those still unaccounted for, though survivors and monitoring groups suggest that more than 100 of the deported individuals remain missing. Rescue teams continue to search through rubble in La Guaira and surrounding areas, prioritising collapsed structures and high-risk zones. The scale of the disaster, combined with the sudden arrival of the deportation group shortly before the earthquakes, has complicated coordination efforts between local emergency services and national agencies working on disaster response.

As recovery operations continue, officials have yet to clarify the full status of the deportees who were housed at the hotel at the time of the earthquakes. The situation remains fluid, with ongoing search efforts focused on locating survivors and recovering victims in one of the hardest-hit coastal regions, while questions persist over how many individuals have been safely accounted for in the aftermath of the disaster.

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