{"id":317749,"date":"2026-06-29T12:00:51","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T11:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=317749"},"modified":"2026-06-28T01:31:13","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T00:31:13","slug":"advocates-renew-call-for-end-to-us-sanctions-after-devastating-venezuela-earthquakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2026\/06\/advocates-renew-call-for-end-to-us-sanctions-after-devastating-venezuela-earthquakes\/","title":{"rendered":"Advocates Renew Call for End to US Sanctions after Devastating Venezuela Earthquakes"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Rescuers search for victims in a collapsed building in Caracas following two massive earthquakes that rocked Venezuela on 24 Jun 2026.\u00a0 (Photo by Juan Barreto\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Despite Earthquake, Trump Keeps Sanctions on Venezuela<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

25 Jun 2026\u00a0<\/em>–\u00a0Human rights<\/a> groups on Thursday implored the United States<\/a> and allied countries to lift all sanctions<\/a> against Venezuela\u2014which experts say have already killed tens of thousands of people\u2014as the beleaguered South American country reels from Wednesday\u2019s devastating earthquakes<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At least 188 people are dead and over 1,500 others injured, with those figures almost certain to rise, following a 7.2-magnitude temblor centered in San Felipe, Yaracuy\u2014about 100 miles west of Caracas\u2014and a 7.5-magnitude quake that struck less than a minute later, also in centered in Yaracuy.<\/p>\n

US President Donald Trump<\/a>, who authorized the illegal invasion of Venezuela<\/a> and adbuction<\/a> of President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro earlier this year, wrote<\/a> on social media<\/a> after the earthquakes that his administration \u201cstands ready, willing, and able to help.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will be there for our new and great friends,\u201d Trump claimed.<\/p>\n

Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, Maduro\u2019s vice president and acting president since his ouster, thanked<\/a> the Trump administration<\/a> for \u201coffering support and solidarity<\/a> to the people of Venezuela in the face of this tragedy that has plunged us into mourning.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, US sanctions\u2014first imposed during then-President George W. Bush\u2019s second term while Hugo Ch\u00e1vez was leading Venezuela and ramped up under the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations\u2014remain in place, complicating relief efforts after one of the country\u2019s worst-ever natural disasters.<\/p>\n

While the Trump administration has issued narrow exemptions from sanctions to companies looking to profit from Venezuela\u2019s crisis and copious natural resources, primarily oil<\/a>, these waivers have not delivered broad relief to the people who need it most.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday\u2019s catastrophe makes clear what we have long argued: When a country is deliberately weakened through economic warfare, its ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters is also weakened,\u201d the US-based peace group CodePink said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cThe United States has a responsibility to help address the humanitarian consequences of the policies it has imposed.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\ud83c\uddfb\ud83c\uddea CODEPINK extends our deepest condolences to the people of Venezuela following the devastating earthquakes that have taken hundreds of lives, injured thousands, and left entire communities in urgent need of assistance.Our full statement: buff.ly\/QzYcQ3p<\/p>\n

— CODEPINK (@codepink.bsky.social)<\/a> 2026-06-25T21:22:43.751Z<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n