Another hammer blow for a country already on its knees. A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck Venezuela’s northern coast just after dawn. The epicentre was 30 miles off the coast of Carabobo state. Widespread damage reported in Puerto Cabello and Valencia. At least 47 dead. Hundreds injured. That number will rise.
Maduro’s government is overwhelmed. The state oil company PDVSA is a shell. Emergency services are starved of cash. The military is focused on repression, not rescue. This is a humanitarian catastrophe in slow motion.
Opposition sources say the regime is blocking international aid. A familiar pattern. After the 2021 floods, Maduro sat on relief supplies for weeks. He feared foreign NGOs would expose his failures. Expect the same playbook now.
The optics are terrible for Caracas. The earthquake hits as Maduro’s grip tightens ahead of a sham election. The economy is in freefall. Hyperinflation. Blackouts. Now this.
Inside the crumbling Miraflores Palace, factions are jockeying. Hardliners want a full state of emergency and a crackdown. Pragmatists whisper about making a deal with Washington for humanitarian relief. Don’t hold your breath.
For the opposition, this is a moment. They need to show they can organise. Deliver aid. Prove they are a government-in-waiting. But they are fractured, broke, and outgunned.
The international community must act. The US has already offered assistance. The EU should follow. But will they? The world’s attention is on Ukraine and Gaza. Venezuela is a forgotten crisis.
One thing is certain: the earthquake will accelerate Venezuela’s collapse. The regime will survive, but the country will not. Not in its current form. The cracks are now chasms.
We are watching a state die in slow motion. The earthquake is just the latest tremor. The final collapse may be closer than we think.
