Protect earthquake victims in Venezuela
Devastating earthquakes hit Venezuela on 24 June 2026, leaving in their wake countless victims, including thousands of people killed, injured, displaced, unhoused, or otherwise affected. Constantly rising official figures are considered to not yet represent the extent of the disaster. Venezuelan authorities must ensure that human rights law and standards guide relief operations. Special measures are needed to protect people in situations of heightened vulnerability, including children and older people. The role of journalists who offer critical information to the public must be protected. We call on the acting president to ensure relief efforts respect humanitarian principles and human rights law.
In the afternoon of 24 June 2026, two earthquakes hit the Northern region of Venezuela, each 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude. The earthquakes mainly affected densely populated states including La Guaira, Caracas, Carabobo, Falcón, Aragua, Miranda, and Yaracuy. As of 29 June, National Assembly president, Jorge Rodriguez, stated that at least 1,719 people had been killed, 5,000 injured, and 15,000 has been displaced from their homes. Hundreds of apartment blocks and other buildings collapsed or have suffered structural damage. These figures are widely considered to not fully convey the total extent of the human and material damage caused by the earthquakes, with thousands reportedly still missing and as aftershocks continuing to occur.
On 25 June, Amnesty International issued a press release raising the alarm over the devastating impact these earthquakes would likely have on people in Venezuela, coming off a decade-long complex humanitarian emergency and systematic policy of repression, and, critically, a collapsed health system.
In this regard, the organization noted that «access to information, freedom of the press, and freedom of expression have been severely restricted as a result of years of state-sponsored censorship, including the closure of dozens of media outlets, the blocking of social media platforms such as X, and the criminalization of journalists and human rights defenders. In the context of the current humanitarian emergency, the organization stresses the critical importance of immediately lifting all undue restrictions on the press, social media platforms, and essential online communications channels. The potential impact of not doing so could be measured in lives lost and rights irreparably affected». In response to public reports of continued restrictions and censorship of the work journalists on the ground, this call remains critical to an effective and rights-based humanitarian response plan.
Furthermore, Amnesty International stated that «human rights and humanitarian NGOs are currently operating in a hugely restrictive environment as a result of a repressive legal architecture geared towards closing off civic space and targeting any form of perceived dissent. In order to offer an effective relief response plan, the Venezuelan authorities must immediately repeal the so-called Anti-NGO law and all other legal mechanisms that restrict, control and limit the lawful and necessary activities of these civil society organisations».
This call has become all the more urgent in order to assist those groups most vulnerable to discrimination and marginalization namely children and older people. The organization has registered gravely concerning initial reports of children allegedly having potentially suffered grave human rights violations.
Amnesty International is continuously and closely monitoring the situation in the country, in full solidarity with the Venezuelan people, human rights defenders, NGOs, civil society organisations, and all those tragically affected by this disaster.
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Please take action before 10 August 2026.
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