Weeks after a pair of powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela on June 24, leaving more than 4,000 dead and thousands more displaced, the humanitarian situation in the hardest-hit regions remains catastrophic, according to a leading Trinidad and Tobago-based aid group.
The Concerned Muslims of Trinidad and Tobago (CMTT), which has already completed its first cross-border relief mission in partnership with two international NGOs, has issued an urgent appeal for continued public support, as hundreds of vulnerable Venezuelans – including children and elderly residents – still lack access to basic food and safe shelter.
In a telephone interview with *Express* from Caracas on Monday, CMTT public relations officer Imtiaz Mohammed detailed the outcomes of the group’s initial $20,000 relief operation, which was carried out alongside U.S.-based Helping Hands USA and U.K.-based Muslim Hands UK. All funds raised were used to source emergency supplies directly within Caracas, with a total of 500 food hampers distributed across two displacement camps over the weekend: 250 hampers at a government-run camp in the capital, and another 250 at a camp in the hard-hit coastal town of La Guaira.
Mohammed described the on-ground distribution process as fraught with difficulty, often chaotic especially in La Guaira, where desperate displaced people rushed arriving relief trucks amid widespread anxiety over unmet basic needs. Footage of the distribution shared by Mohammed shows long lines of survivors, including large numbers of young people, waiting to receive assistance. Each hamper contains staple food items that have become scarce for earthquake-affected households, including rice, flour, beans and cooking oil.
Beyond the immediate chaos of aid delivery, Mohammed outlined structural barriers slowing recovery efforts: most heavily damaged regions are under heavy patrol by Venezuelan national security forces, and the absence of sufficient heavy rescue equipment has dragged out search and recovery operations for missing residents. Current reports indicate thousands of people remain unaccounted for, while entire neighborhoods of homes, local schools and small businesses have been completely destroyed. For survivors who have lost everything, Mohammed emphasized that short-term aid is not enough – long-term sustained support will be required to help affected communities regain a sense of normalcy.
The CMTT is currently collecting donations of food and sanitary supplies, and is already preparing its second aid shipment from Trinidad and Tobago to Venezuela, which the group expects to finalize in the coming days.
CMTT is not the only local organization mobilizing to support Venezuela’s earthquake survivors. Across Trinidad and Tobago, multiple NGOs and individual volunteer groups have launched ongoing collection drives for non-perishable food, prescription medicine, personal hygiene products, and construction materials for emergency shelter.
On the same day of Mohammed’s appeal, nearly 200 volunteers from Sewa International TT gathered at the National Council for Indian Culture facility in Chaguanas to assemble 1,000 pre-packed emergency relief buckets for displaced Venezuelan families. The event was attended by senior guests including Venezuelan Ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago Álvaro Sánchez Cordero, Office of the Prime Minister Minister Darrell Allahar, Sewa International TT president Revan Teelucksingh, and Proman head of corporate communications Colin Greaves. Ambassador Sánchez Cordero extended his formal gratitude to the volunteers and organizers for their show of international solidarity in the wake of Venezuela’s crisis.
The twin June 24 earthquakes have left a devastating humanitarian mark on the country, with an official death toll exceeding 4,000 and tens of thousands of residents left without permanent housing.