Breaking: US Deportees Among Missing as Over 100 Venezuelans Disappear After Earthquakes

US Deportees Among Missing As Over 100 Venezuelans Disappear After Earthquakes

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Deportees Trapped In Collapsed Hotel

More than 100 Venezuelans recently deported from the United States are among people missing after powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela, leaving a search operation underway for survivors and victims trapped beneath collapsed structures.

The deportees arrived in Venezuela hours before Wednesday’s earthquakes and were taken to a hotel in La Guaira, one of the areas worst affected by the disaster.

According to ICE Flight Monitor, an initiative of Human Rights First that tracks deportation flights, the group included 146 Venezuelan nationals, among them 19 women and seven children, who were flown from Miami.

Survivor Recounts Escape From Rubble

One of the survivors, 58-year-old Lisbeth Portillo, said she escaped from the damaged hotel with about 20 other deportees after the earthquakes struck.

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She said the group moved through the streets searching for assistance as residents fled damaged buildings in panic.

“We walked about five kilometres, and I cried and cried … there was no communication,” Portillo said in a phone interview from her home in Maracaibo.

The survivor said they later reached a National Guard facility where they were able to contact their families.

“I was born again; God gave me a second chance,” Portillo said. “I am traumatised.”

Rescue Efforts Continue After Deadly Quakes

The earthquakes, recorded at magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, caused widespread destruction across affected areas, with La Guaira among the hardest-hit locations.

The Venezuelan government has reported that more than 1,700 people were killed following the disaster.

Authorities and rescue teams continue efforts to locate missing persons and recover those affected by the collapse of buildings, including the hotel where the deportees were being held.