Venezuelan migrants missing after U.S. deportation, earthquake collapse

Families of over a hundred Venezuelan migrants deported from the United States are desperately seeking answers after their relatives disappeared following their arrival in Venezuela. The migrants were reportedly housed in a hotel that collapsed during a powerful 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude double earthquake on June 24.

Melany Toyo, a relative of one of the missing migrants, Víctor Guanipa Toyo, expressed frustration with the inconsistent information provided by authorities. "Nobody has a clear answer about what is happening to the migrants who have not yet been found," Toyo told reporters from the Bello Monte morgue in Caracas. She is searching for her 32-year-old cousin, who arrived in Venezuela just before the devastating earthquakes struck.

Toyo emphasized the anguish of the families, stating, "We are looking for an answer because at home there is a mother who suffers and cries waiting for news of her son, two children waiting for their father, and we truly need an answer, whether he is alive or hospitalized." She noted that authorities have given conflicting accounts, with some suggesting sixteen survivors or that only women survived.

The plane carrying over a hundred repatriated migrants landed in La Guaira shortly before the earthquakes. They were taken to a hotel for processing before being released the following day. However, the subsequent seismic events caused the hotel to collapse, trapping the migrants. Official figures from the earthquakes indicate at least 1,943 deaths and 10,571 injuries, but the number of missing migrants remains unconfirmed.