A Tale of Two Disasters

It Takes Time To Learn The Full Story

Members of the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue survey a disaster zone in La Guaira, Venezuela, June 29, 2026. At the direction of U.S. Southern Command.. Photo by US Marines 24MEU Gunnery Sergeant Kevin Rivas. wikimedia commons This file is a work of a United States Marine or employee, taken or made as part of that person’s official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain.

Earthquakes are more common than most people think

The Canary Islands, being a volcanic region, have frequent earthquake “swarms,” usually small and deep underground. I’ve lived here for 10 years and never felt one. I’ve only once experienced an earthquake, but you never forget the feeling. Surprisingly, this was in Ireland. I was living in Enniscorthy, County Wexford, at the time.

On 19 July 1984, I woke up to a strange crunching and grinding sound. The house shook. Measuring 5.4 on the Richter scale, this was the largest onshore earthquake ever recorded in the UK, with its epicentre near the Welsh village of Llithfaen. We felt it on the other side of the Irish Sea.

The earthquakes that hit Caracas and La Guiara on 24 June this year were much stronger, and the buildings less robust. Survivors were almost all from the lower floors. I can imagine being pulled from the rubble of what was once your home. Or dying there. Yes, I know being a victim is something most people prefer not to think about.

Random chance often influences disasters and their outcomes. That day was a [national holiday](http://The Battle of Carabobo Day is celebrated every year on June 24 as a national public holiday in Venezuela. It commemorates the historic 1821 victory led by General Simón Bolívar that secured Venezuela's independence from Spanish colonial rule.), so more people were at home than usual. One of the saddest stories was on Ground News 30 June 2026: “More than 100 Venezuelans who were deported from the US hours before the earthquake are missing.”

2026–06–24 Yumare Venezuela M7.5 earthquake intensity map by United States Geological Survey, 24 June 2026. wikimedia commons This image is in the public domain in the United States because it only contains materials that originally came from the United States Geological Survey, an agency of the United States Department of the Interior.

Double earthquakes are very rare. Venezuela sits where the Caribbean and South American tectonic plates rub against each other horizontally; there are multiple fault lines. In this case, the Bocano and San Sebastián faults were affected, creating one earthquake measuring 7.2, followed 39 seconds later by one measuring 7.5. It wasn’t the first earthquake to hit Caracas.

Venezuela, Cuba, and the Canary Islands

I have links with Venezuela, but never been there. During the early 2000s, I lived in Cuba when Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro had a close political/economic relationship. My sister-in-law’s husband worked in Venezuela, helping improve their sugar cultivation. As a perk, he brought back consumer goods not available in Cuba.

After the fall of the Soviet Union, Cuba had a new friend. Venezuela was relatively wealthy then, after Japanese scientists found a way to process its heavy, thick oil.

Here in the Canary Islands, my current next-door neighbours are a hard-working Venezuelan family.

There are long-standing links between these islands and the Americas. On 6 September 1492, Columbus sailed from our island capital, San Sebastián.

As the Spanish Empire in the Americas grew, mutual migration developed. When the Canary Islands’ economy was in trouble, people travelled to Latin America to work. In their turn, Latin Americans came here looking for work when they needed to. Neither side has forgotten these links.

All the Canary Islands have a strong sense of solidarity. Many shops here are collecting goods and donations for Venezuela now. We know they’d do the same for us if necessary.

Looking for a scapegoat

The difference between the Anglesey earthquake and the Venezuelan ones is not just relative strength. In Venezuela, the poor quality of the buildings, their location, and the country’s current poverty all contributed to the high death toll.

Google, owned by a billionaire, gives nationalisations and state ownership of the oil industry (PDVSA) as the causes of Venezuela’s ongoing hyperinflation, but many countries have nationalised industries running efficiently.

One headline from usanews.com claimed: “ Venezuela’s deadly quake exposes the rotten core of Socialist construction.” I’m sure Trump will adopt this view.

People who “identify” scapegoats always choose someone/something fitting their own pre-existing grudges. Disasters have many contributory factors; we need to understand all of them to reduce the chance of recurrence.

There’s always more to a story than we first see

I don’t know the precise dates of construction of each building that collapsed, and it’s a good bet the “blame Socialism” gang don’t either. In 2017, the US imposed financial sanctions on Venezuela in response to alleged “human rights abuses and anti-democratic actions.” Looking at current US policies, “pot” and “kettle” come to mind.

Socialists try to make life more equal; a worthy goal, though results vary. In Latin America, US foreign policy plays a role in many regional tragedies, mainly by interfering in the economies. (There’s another side; the Marines above are doing necessary and helpful work. US technology would be valuable if more affordable.)

Until 1999, Venezuela was usually a relatively stable liberal democracy. Hugo Chávez, President of Venezuela from 1999 to 2013, was immensely popular in the region. He first gained power in a coup, but retained it after elections which were free and fair, according to international observers.

In 2004, Venezuela and Cuba founded ALBA, a mutual co-operation organisation joined by other Latin American countries. But during this time, Venezuela became heavily dependent on oil exports.

Picture of Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro. Photo from 16th World Festival of Youth and Students, Caracas 2005. By User:Slarre~commonswiki 17 August 2006 wikimedia commons The copyright holder of this file allows anyone to use it for any purpose, provided that the copyright holder is properly attributed. Redistribution, derivative work, commercial use, and all other use is permitted.

Nicolas Maduro, the leader illegally kidnapped by Trump’s regime, was less popular, less competent, and allegedly corrupt. But at least he didn’t sink other people’s fishing boats or bomb girls’ schools. Or spend years committing war crimes — you want to make the world safer, Donald? Kidnap Putin and/or resign.

The drop in oil prices in 2014 wasn’t Maduro’s fault, but he couldn’t resolve the fact that it led to Venezuela being unable to afford imported goods — a situation that always leads to social unrest. American oil companies will not care about the interests of ordinary Venezuelans.

All these factors and more contributed to the high death toll in the earthquake. Many of the buildings that collapsed were badly designed and constructed, with poor quality materials, whoever was President when they were built.

A sanctioned country committed to a housing programme, built in areas not suitable for such large buildings. Soft, alluvial soil behaved like liquid when the ground moved. This video, by a construction engineer, gives a useful summary.

The earthquake would still have happened, but doing far less harm if Venezuela could afford to build sturdier buildings in safer areas — when rebuilding, Japan could advise; they’re the experts.

Meanwhile, Cuba’s misery is ignored:

Second Nationwide Blackout in Cuba in a week. By JPSS imagery: CSU/CIRA & NOAA/NESDIS, 22 March 2026. wikimedia commons This image is in the public domain because it contains materials that originally came from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, taken or made as part of an employee’s official duties.

Have you seen any news about this in the United States? US government has been sporadically targeting Cuba since its 1959 Revolution nationalised US businesses.

Trump’s regime keeps tightening “sanctions” on Cuba

These date from 1960 and haven’t worked yet, assuming the aim is to make Cubans beg to be re-admitted to the US sphere of influence. So now the idea is to force them into submission.

“Island-wide blackout hits Cuba as its fuel reserve dwindles and its ageing grid crumbles” (Ground News AI summary 7/7/26) sounds far worse than I remember. It used to happen less often, in smaller areas.

This is deliberate policy. Since January, Washington has allowed only a single (Russian) tanker to deliver oil, exacerbating chronic outages. In tropical Cuba, this makes it difficult to sleep, as well as to work.

Decades of “El Bloqueo” mean that Cuba can’t afford to improve its electricity, water, and transport systems. The Soviet Union helped. Venezuela helped. China helped. But Cuba’s economy and infrastructure are in poor shape.

Meanwhile, its Northern neighbour froths at the mouth because it doesn’t like the way Cuba’s organised. This includes free healthcare and education and even subsidised food. Instead of following the parts of Cuba’s example that would benefit their own population, they want to destroy it. Cuba is being tortured for not grovelling.

Far worse leaders than Hugo Chavez or Fidel Castro have been maintained in power because they obey the United States and support right-wing policies. (Like Fulgencio Batista, the brutal US-backed dictator deposed by the 1959 Revolution.)

Cuba deserves better, and that improvement will not come from Marco Rubio.

Neither country is a threat to the United States, which could do a lot of good in the region. Help is always welcome; interference isn’t.

Sources

Ground News headlines and summaries June-July 2026

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zl6ocTFQDw

[embed]Canary Islands rally behind Venezuela after earthquakes Fernando Clavijo highlights the coordination of the Canary Islands and the State in aid to Venezuela after the…www.democrata.es

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