Quake Horror: Deported Venezuelans Missing After Hotel Collapse in La Guaira

A devastating natural disaster has struck Venezuela, leading to a frantic search for over 100 individuals who had just been deported from the United States. These Venezuelans were being held in a hotel in La Guaira when powerful earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitudes, rocked the region, causing the building to collapse.

The individuals were part of a group of 146 Venezuelans, including 19 women and seven children, who arrived on a deportation flight from Miami just hours before Wednesday's quakes. According to ICE Flight Monitor, an initiative tracking deportation flights, they were transported directly to a hotel in La Guaira, one of the areas hardest hit by the seismic activity.

Lisbeth Portillo, a 58-year-old survivor, recounted her harrowing escape. She managed to flee the rubble with approximately 20 other deportees. They walked for about five kilometers, desperately seeking help amid the chaos. Portillo described a scene of people running, some unclothed and barefoot, as they emerged from the collapsed structures. "I cried and cried… there was no communication," she shared from her home in Maracaibo after eventually reaching a national guard building where they could contact relatives.

Overwhelmed with emotion, Portillo said, "I was born again; God gave me a second chance." However, the trauma of the experience remains deeply etched. "I am traumatized," she added, weeping. The Venezuelan government has reported that more than 1,700 people were killed in the earthquakes across the country.

This tragic event casts a harsh light on the circumstances of deportation. Portillo herself was caught up in the Trump administration’s push for mass deportations, which saw thousands sent back to their home countries. The fate of the more than 100 missing deportees remains a critical concern as rescue efforts continue in La Guaira.

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