Deported Venezuelans' Families Seek Answers After Earthquake Tragedy

WHO:

CNN - Luis Armando Dasilva, Amanda Donizete (sister of Dasilva), José Gregorio Rincón Ávila (grandfather of a deportee), Yulis Salcedo (mother of Anderson), Anderson (21-year-old deportee).

ABC News - Group of over 100 recently deported Venezuelans, including several families.

WHAT:

CNN - A hotel holding more than 100 deported Venezuelans collapsed during deadly earthquakes.

CNN - A deportation flight from Miami to Venezuela carried 146 people, including 19 women and 7 children.

CNN - At least 1,700 people were killed in the earthquakes, with many more still missing.

CNN - The US has committed more than $300 million to relief efforts in Venezuela.

CNN - In May, the US deported 1,746 Venezuelans according to ICE Flight Monitor.

CNN - Anderson is currently fighting for his life in a hospital after the hotel collapse.

WHERE:

CNN - Hotel Santuario in La Guaira, a coastal city north of Caracas, Venezuela.

CNN - Simón Bolívar International Airport in Venezuela.

WHEN:

CNN - The deportation flight landed at 10:22 a.m. local time on the same day the earthquakes struck.

CNN - The earthquakes occurred on the same day as the deportation flight.

WHY:

CNN - The deportees were sent back to Venezuela as part of the US's deportation policy following the Supreme Court's decision allowing the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan migrants.

HOW:

CNN - Rescuers are combing through the rubble of the hotel in search of survivors.

(UPDATED June 30, 2026 06:21 UTC)

A devastating hotel collapse in La Guaira, Venezuela, has left Anderson, a 21-year-old deportee, fighting for his life, as the building fell during deadly earthquakes that have claimed at least 1,700 lives. The hotel was housing over 100 recently deported Venezuelans, including families, after a flight from Miami brought 146 people back to Venezuela on the same day the earthquakes struck. In response to this tragedy, the U.S. has committed more than $300 million to relief efforts in Venezuela, while rescuers continue to search through the rubble for survivors.