LatinNews Daily - 26 June 2026

*Humanitarian aid has been announced for Venezuela and international rescue teams dispatched from numerous countries in the wake of two earthquakes which devastated northern coastal states on 24 June. The US State Department announced that, in addition to search and rescue, airlift, and coordination assistance, the US is mobilising US$150m through its “assistance partners” in Venezuela. This entails US$50m in new bilateral awards to partners on the ground in Venezuela, including international aid organisations and NGOs already operating in the country, such as Catholic Relief Services, International Medical Corps, and the United Nations (UN) World Food Programme, as well as a US$100m donation to the Venezuela fund at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (Ofac) also announced a further easing of sanctions on Venezuela, issuing a new general licence yesterday authorising transactions related to earthquake relief efforts. International Monetary Fund (IMF) spokesperson Julie Kozack said yesterday that, amid the IMF’s renewed engagement with Venezuela, “part of those discussions will be how we can best support the authorities and the Venezuelan people as they recover from this tragedy”. President Delcy Rodríguez said yesterday that her government will finance reconstruction efforts using US$200m of the funds that Venezuela can access via the IMF. Bloomberg reported that this related to Venezuela’s special drawing rights (SDRs) at the fund, which amount to US$4.5bn. The health minister, Carlos Alvarado, told state television channel VTV last night that the death toll from the earthquake had risen to at least 235, although this is likely to rise substantially further.

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