How to Help Venezuelans From Abroad
Making a difference today can literally save lives.
Dear subscribers, I apologize for this special express issue.
Yesterday evening, two earthquakes struck northern Venezuela within one minute: a 7.2-magnitude foreshock followed by a 7.5-magnitude mainshock, the strongest to hit the country in more than a century.
As of now, the regime reports at least 188 dead and 1,520 injured. The death toll is expected to be much higher, as independent, unverified citizen-led initiatives estimate more than 37,000 people are missing at the moment.
The coastal state of La Guaira is the most affected, home to Venezuela’s main seaport and Simón Bolívar International Airport. The airport is closed. There is no electricity, no cellular coverage, and no reliable road access from Caracas. The only realistic entry point for humanitarian assistance right now is by sea from the Caribbean. Aid is not arriving through the main airport. Any country with maritime capacity should route assistance directly to La Guaira’s port, not wait for Caracas to reopen and coordinate distribution. Please help us push for this on social media.
For those outside Venezuela who want to help directly: donate to Caritas Venezuela. It has warehouses, transport authorization, and a permanent presence in hard-to-reach communities across the country. Catholic Relief Services is currently channeling earthquake relief through Caritas Venezuela. You can donate at crs.org/donate/venezuela-earthquake. It is one of the most reliable organizations operating on the ground, with years of infrastructure built precisely for moments like this.
Thank you very much, and if you’re reading me from Venezuela, stay safe. We will recover from this.
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Gracias por leer. Hasta la semana que viene.
👋 Meet Felipe Torres Gianvittorio
Felipe Torres Gianvittorio is a Venezuelan-Spanish journalist and editor of LatAm Explained. He helps international readers understand Latin America’s politics, conflicts, and culture, drawing on his experiences in Venezuela, Ecuador, and Argentina.
He is part of the LATAM Network of Young Journalists and currently studies the Erasmus Mundus Master’s in Journalism, Media and Globalization at Aarhus University and Charles University in Prague. His research focuses on the role of media under authoritarian regimes.