The government and people of the Caribbean twin-island nation Antigua and Barbuda are mourning alongside Venezuela after a series of destructive earthquakes hit the South American country, leaving a trail of tragedy: dozens of lives cut short, hundreds injured, and entire neighborhoods and critical public facilities reduced to rubble, leaving countless families without their homes and sources of income.
In an official statement released following the disaster, Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister extended heartfelt condolences on behalf of both the nation’s government, its people, and himself. The sympathy was directed not only to the grieving families who lost loved ones but also to Interim President Delcy Rodríguez, the Venezuelan government, and the whole of Venezuelan society grappling with the overwhelming pain and disruption caused by the seismic event.
For Antiguans and Barbudans, the pain of sudden large-scale natural disaster is not an abstract experience. The nation carries the memory of catastrophic destruction from past events, and knows all too well the crippling anguish and uncertainty that follows such a catastrophe. They also understand how much difference sincere solidarity and timely support can make when a community is on its knees — a lesson learned firsthand when Venezuela extended a critical lifeline to Antigua and Barbuda more than six years ago.
In September 2017, Category 5 Hurricane Irma swept across Barbuda, the smaller of the two islands that make up Antigua and Barbuda, leaving the entire landmass uninhabitable. In that desperate hour, the Venezuelan government responded without hesitation, offering generous and immediate support. They supplied aircraft that evacuated the entire population of Barbuda to safety on the main island of Antigua. That act of compassionate solidarity and good neighborliness, the Prime Minister emphasized, remains permanently engraved in the collective memory of the Antiguan and Barbudan people, a debt of friendship the nation has never forgotten.
Today, as Venezuela confronts its own crisis, the Antigua and Barbuda government is stepping forward to return that solidarity. The Prime Minister announced that the government will provide a $150,000 humanitarian contribution to the Venezuelan government to support emergency relief efforts for communities impacted by the earthquakes. While the amount is modest relative to the enormous scale of destruction and need across Venezuela, the contribution is offered rooted in the values of cross-regional friendship, gratitude, and shared solidarity between Caribbean and Latin American nations.
Beyond the immediate financial contribution, Antigua and Barbuda stands ready to work alongside Venezuelan authorities and other regional partners to identify and deliver any additional practical support that the nation is able to provide, both during the ongoing relief phase and the long, challenging process of recovery and reconstruction that lies ahead for Venezuela.
The Prime Minister noted that large-scale natural disasters serve as a universal reminder: no country, regardless of its location or wealth, is insulated from the raw power of natural forces. In the face of these unforgiving events, humanity’s greatest strength comes from our shared connection and our willingness to lift one another up in times of trouble.
“The thoughts and prayers of all Antiguans and Barbudans are with the people of Venezuela at this difficult time,” the statement read. “We have full confidence that, drawing on the extraordinary resilience and courage that the Venezuelan people are known for, they will overcome this tragedy and rebuild their communities stronger than before. May those who lost their lives rest in peace, may the injured make a full and speedy recovery, and may comfort and hope sustain all Venezuelans in the difficult days ahead.”