In the wake of catastrophic back-to-back earthquakes that left northeastern Venezuela reeling from widespread destruction and heavy human loss, the Commonwealth of Dominica has stepped forward with urgent humanitarian support. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit announced Thursday during an official press briefing that his government has greenlit an initial $500,000 financial donation to aid Venezuela’s disaster recovery efforts.
Skerrit emphasized that this contribution embodies the core values of cross-border solidarity and collaborative action when communities face existential crisis. “Venezuela has always been a valued friend, a neighbor,” he noted, extending the deep sympathy and collective solidarity of the Dominican people to both the Venezuelan government and the public grappling with the aftermath of the disaster.
The powerful seismic events hit northeastern Venezuela within hours of one another on June 24, 2026. The quakes reduced thousands of residential structures and public infrastructure to ruins, disrupted critical basic services, and forced panic-stricken local residents to evacuate into open streets for safety. As of the latest updates, global media outlets have confirmed that the death toll has surpassed 2,200, with more than 11,000 people sustaining injuries, and tens of thousands still remain unaccounted for amid the rubble.
Venezuelan authorities continue to work to map the full scale of destruction, even as persistent aftershocks hamper relief operations across affected regions. Emergency response teams have remained on the ground around the clock conducting search-and-rescue missions and preliminary damage evaluations, while the national government has mobilized all available resources to deliver aid to impacted communities. Skerrit acknowledged the immense scale of the challenge ahead, stressing that recovery will be an enormous uphill task for Venezuela’s government and its people.
Bilateral ties between Dominica and Venezuela have remained strong and cooperative for decades. Skerrit’s government has repeatedly extended political support to Caracas through past electoral processes, and has even offered to act as a neutral mediator to facilitate dialogue between Venezuela and the United States. For its part, Venezuela has been a key partner in Dominica’s national development, providing consistent assistance through regional integration frameworks including the PetroCaribe oil initiative and the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA).