Secretary of State Marco Rubio committed the United States to a major earthquake relief effort for Venezuela on Thursday, June 26, describing what he called a coordinated push across federal agencies.
“We have a whole-of-government response,” Rubio said. “It’ll be big; it’ll be fast; and it’ll be effective.”
That’s a striking pledge — given that U.S.-Venezuela relations have been strained for years, with Washington maintaining sanctions against the Nicolás Maduro government and, at times, refusing to recognize its legitimacy.
Rubio offered no dollar figure, no timeline, and no details on which agencies would be involved or how aid would reach the country given the diplomatic complications on the ground. The State Department hadn’t released further specifics as of Thursday afternoon.
Whether Venezuelan authorities would accept direct U.S. assistance — or under what conditions — also remained unclear.
