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Venezuela Earthquake Overview: Death Toll, Scale, and Trump's Role
At 3:12 · chapter starts 2:30
Ben Meiselas wastes no time setting the scene: all hell has broken loose in Venezuela following twin earthquakes on June 24 that struck north-central Venezuela 39 seconds apart — a 7.2 followed almost immediately by a devastating 7.5 [1] — Ben Meiselas "~2,000 confirmed deaths, 10,000+ injured: The June 24 Venezuela earthquakes killed approximately 2,000 people and injured over 10,000, with…" 02:30 . With roughly 2,000 confirmed dead, over 10,000 injured, and tens of thousands still missing, the humanitarian scale is staggering [1] — Ben Meiselas "~2,000 confirmed deaths, 10,000+ injured: The June 24 Venezuela earthquakes killed approximately 2,000 people and injured over 10,000, with…" 02:30 . Meiselas frames Trump's behavior not as incompetence but as deliberate alignment with authoritarian interim leader Delcy Rodriguez and her enforcer Diosdado Cabello, who are blocking aid and rescue operations. Trump, he argues, is supporting Delcy because he wants Venezuela's oil money — claiming credit for $100 million in aid while allegedly extracting over $5 billion in oil revenue from the country. Meanwhile, legitimate opposition leader María Corina Machado — who was forced to surrender her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump — is being blocked from even returning to her earthquake-ravaged country. Meiselas positions this as a pattern of authoritarian enablement, calling Trump 'the worst authoritarian of them all right now.'
The June 24 Venezuela earthquakes killed approximately 2,000 people and injured over 10,000, with tens of thousands still missing.
A magnitude 7.2 struck north-central Venezuela on June 24, followed 39 seconds later by a 7.5 in virtually the same spot. With 2,000 confirmed dead, 10,000+ injured, 58,000 buildings destroyed, and tens of thousands missing, Venezuela is facing a catastrophe — and the world's response is being sabotaged.
María Corina Machado was forced to give her Nobel Peace Prize to Donald Trump, yet Trump still blocks her return and sides with the Delcy Rodriguez regime.
Trump claims to have provided $100 million in aid to Venezuela while allegedly extracting over $5 billion in oil revenue from the country.
Trump claims credit for $100 million in Venezuelan earthquake aid. But that money flows to Delcy Rodriguez and Diosdado Cabello — not the people. Meanwhile, the Trump regime has extracted over $5 billion in Venezuelan oil revenue. This isn't humanitarian policy; it's a resource extraction deal disguised as diplomacy.
A 7.2 magnitude quake hit north-central Venezuela, followed 39 seconds later by a larger 7.5 magnitude rupture at nearly the same location.
An estimated 58,000 buildings were likely destroyed by the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24.
