Venezuelan diaspora in the US doubled to 1.2 million between 2019 and 2024
The powerful back-to-back earthquakes that struck north-central Venezuela on June 24 killed more than 6,500 people, left an untold number missing, and damaged thousands of buildings, according to a report by Caplin News distributed by The Associated Press. Kelly Granado Montano was among more than one million Venezuelans living in the United States who watched the disaster unfold from afar, the report said. Her parents went missing under the rubble of their Venezuela apartment building; she spent her days “lost, worried, on the phone,” her body in one country, her mind in another. “The desperation, the pain, and the anguish grew — from not knowing,” she said.
As news of the disaster overtook social media feeds and family WhatsApp chats, survivor’s guilt, anger toward Venezuelan authorities, and a devastating feeling of powerlessness overcame many in the diaspora, according to the report. The report said the diaspora’s numbers doubled to 1.2 million between 2019 and 2024, as people sought relief primarily from economic hardship.