Tragedy in La Guaira: US-Deported Venezuelans Missing After Catastrophic Hotel Collapse

A Double Tragedy: Deportation and Disaster

In a harrowing convergence of political upheaval and natural disaster, more than 100 Venezuelans, recently deported from the United States, have gone missing following a catastrophic hotel collapse in La Guaira. The incident occurred amidst a series of powerful earthquakes that rocked the region on Wednesday, leaving a trail of destruction and thousands of families in mourning.

The victims were passengers on a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation flight that had arrived from Miami just hours before the seismic events. According to data from the ICE Flight Monitor, an initiative by Human Rights First, the flight carried 146 individuals, including 19 women and seven children. Upon arrival, they were transported to the Hotel Santuario La Llanada in La Guaira for processing, medical examinations, and the issuance of identification documents.

Survivors' Accounts: Terror in the Rubble

For those who survived, the experience was a nightmare of sudden violence and desperation. Lisbeth Portillo, 58, recounted the moments of terror. While standing on a second-floor balcony overlooking the sea, she noted an eerie blackness in the sky and oppressive heat before the ground began to heave.

“I started hearing, ‘Papa, papa papapa,’ and I saw the women next to me start to fall,” Portillo recalled, describing the guttural sounds of the building's structural failure. “They were all screaming for help.” Portillo was buried under a heavy concrete beam, only escaping when a subsequent earthquake shifted the debris just enough for her to crawl out. She described walking five kilometers through the streets of La Guaira, witnessing scenes of chaos with barefoot and traumatized survivors emerging from the ruins.

Another survivor, 24-year-old Jenny Rodriguez, shared a similar tale of survival, stating she was trapped under the rubble until a fellow deportee from the same flight spotted her. “I managed to free my hand from the debris, grabbed him by the trousers, and begged for help,” she told the Telemundo network.

The Human Cost and Institutional Silence

The scale of the disaster is immense. The Venezuelan government reports that more than 1,700 people have perished in the earthquakes, which measured 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale. For the families of the deportees, the tragedy is compounded by a lack of information. Liliana Rojas, whose 33-year-old partner was deported from El Paso, Texas, expressed her anguish over the silence from authorities. “No one is giving an answer about anything,” she stated, having only been told by a Texas detention center that her partner had been deported.

Context of Mass Deportations

This incident occurs against the backdrop of an aggressive drive for mass deportations by the Trump administration. In May alone, the ICE Flight Monitor tracked 288 deportation flights to 38 different countries. The US resumed flights to Venezuela in February 2025 after a 13-month hiatus, with 12 flights operating in May—averaging three trips per week.

As search and rescue teams continue to sift through the ruins of the Hotel Santuario La Llanada, the international community watches with concern. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the fate of the individuals on the Miami flight.