Venezuela Earthquake Relief.
Murcia Student Paola Cepeda Initiates GoFundMe to Rebuild Family Business After Venezuela Earthquake.
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Paola Cepeda, a Venezuelan Architecture student at the Universidad Católica de Murcia in Spain, lost three of her cousins — Emma, Mathias, and Aranza — when a catastrophic earthquake struck Venezuela on June 24, 2026. Her grandmother survived, but only barely. "Hoy nuestra familia atraviesa el momento más doloroso," Paola wrote on GoFundMe. "Perdimos a nuestros amados niños."
The disaster was not one earthquake but two. A magnitude 7.2 tremor struck near San Felipe, Yaracuy, at 18:04 local time. Just 39 seconds later, a magnitude 7.5 mainshock hit the same zone, according to USGS data. The back-to-back strikes — a rare "seismic doublet" — toppled buildings across Caracas and La Guaira. The confirmed death toll reached 920 by June 27, with NGOs warning it could climb past 1,430.
A Family Business and Three Young Lives Lost
Paola's family ran a business in Venezuela that employed 80 people. The earthquake destroyed it. Now she is raising money on GoFundMe — her campaign is called "Un llamado a la solidaridad" — to cover funeral costs, medical exams for injured survivors, and the rebuilding of that business. Losing it does not just hurt her family. It threatens 80 jobs in an already fragile local economy, according to Levante EMV.
Paola named her three cousins publicly. Emma, Mathias, and Aranza are gone. Her grandmother survived the collapse of her home, though Paola describes it as a miracle. "Nuestra familia ha sido golpeada por una tragedia que ha cambiado nuestras vidas para siempre," she wrote. She is now organizing from Spain, thousands of kilometers from the rubble, unable to return.
Venezuela's Deadliest Quake in Over a Century
Seismologists say this was Venezuela's strongest seismic event since 1900. The "doublet" pattern — two major quakes on the same fault in under a minute — hit the San Sebastián fault under extreme stress. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared a national state of emergency on June 25 and named La Guaira a "disaster zone." By June 27, Jorge Rodríguez of the National Assembly confirmed 3,360 people were injured and 172 still trapped in rubble, according to Diario de Ibiza.
The missing persons numbers are staggering. World Vision estimates between 55,000 and 68,900 people are unaccounted for. LNE reported that the International Organization for Migration fears up to 6.76 million people could be affected — a scale that risks triggering a new wave of migration both inside and outside the country. Rescue workers warn that remote areas have still not been reached.
Aid Too Slow for Families in Marginalized Areas
The official government line stresses the "heroic" response of civil protection teams. Authorities told citizens not to travel to La Guaira to avoid clogging rescue routes. But international NGOs and El Periódico Mediterráneo report a different picture: families in poor neighborhoods say aid is moving far too slowly. The high number of missing — over 50,000 — points to a system that is overwhelmed.
Experts warn that Venezuela's pre-existing problems make recovery harder. Much of the country's housing — built without proper codes — was not designed to survive a magnitude 7+ event. Shortages of food and medicine were already a reality before June 24. ReliefWeb analysts note that the path to "early recovery" will be far slower here than in neighboring countries with stronger infrastructure.
Spain Watches and Mobilizes as Diaspora Mourns
Paola Cepeda is not alone in Spain. At least 6 Spanish nationals were confirmed dead after the quakes, and 133 remain missing, according to El Día. Spain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is tracking the situation closely. Artists including Alejandro Sanz and Carlos Vives have used their platforms to raise money and coordinate aid. Sanz said: "When the earth shakes, so does the soul of those of us who love that country."
U.S. Southern Command is also coordinating with Venezuelan authorities to provide aerial damage assessments and life-saving supplies. For Paola, the geopolitics are secondary. Her GoFundMe is a direct lifeline — both for her grieving family and for the 80 workers who depended on a business that no longer stands. El Periódico de Aragón reported that her story has sparked widespread solidarity across Spain.
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