Guyana, Barbados ready to assist earthquake-devastated Venezuela

Last Updated on Thursday, 25 June 2026, 6:32 by Denis Chabrol

President Irfaan Ali early Thursday morning said Guyana was ready to assist Venezuela in the wake of Wednesday two devastating earthquakes.

“As neighbours, we are ready to offer assistance within our capacity. Our love, prayers, and thoughts are with the families of those affected and the people of Venezuela,” he said in a statement on Facebook.

Dr Ali said aa neighbours, Guyanese were “deeply saddened by the scale, magnitude, and destruction” caused by the two powerful back-to-back earthquakes that struck Caracas yesterday. (Wednessay).

Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley said she spoke with Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez and expressed her condolences. Ms Mottley said Barbados was ready to help Venezuela.

“Some will call what happened an act of God. What happens next must be acts of humanity, acts of kindness, acts of solidarity, acts of courage, and acts of practical love.

Venezuela is our neighbour, and in this Caribbean family, pain does not stop at a border. Barbados stands ready to assist in whatever way we can,” she said in a statement.

The BBC reported Thursday morning that 32 persons were killed, 700 others injured and many buildings destroyed by the earthquake that measured 7.2 on the Richter scale.

Worst affected are the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, and La Guaira state.

In the capital, rescuers were searching through the rubble and people have been heard calling for help

The quakes, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, hit a minute apart. The second was the strongest to hit Venezuela since 1900.

Venezuela was celebrating a national holiday and many people were at home when the quakes struck at 6:04 PM Wednesday.

President  Ali said Guyanese were in solidarity with the people of Venezuela.

Since Guyana’s discovery of oil in 2015, Venezuela had taken several aggressive steps to press its claim to the Essequibo Region. The International Court of Justice will rule on the validity of the 1899 Arbitral Tribunal Award later this year or early 2927.