The Turkey’s Red Crescent has contacted the Venezuelan Red Cross following the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, which struck the country’s northern coast, offering to provide all the aid and support required, particularly given Turkey’s experience with this type of natural disasters following the earthquakes of 2023 that devastated south-eastern Anatolia, leaving some 53,000 people dead.
According to a statement issued by the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay), following the quakes that have particularly affected the northern coast of Venezuela, the Turkish organisation continues to monitor the situation in coordination with the Venezuelan Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).
As reported by the Turkish news agency Anatolia, Kızılay was the first to contact the Venezuelan Red Cross after the earthquake, conveying the message “We are ready to provide all kinds of assistance”. The organisation is currently in consultation with its Venezuelan counterpart regarding the possible deployment of an assistance team.
“I extend my condolences to the Venezuelan people,” said the president of the Turkish Red Crescent, Fatma Meriç Yılmaz. “Our relevant units remain in constant contact with the Venezuelan Red Cross. We are ready to meet all the humanitarian aid needs of our brotherly Venezuelan people, particularly with our specialised disaster response teams,” she stated.
Erdoğan’s message of solidarity with the Venezuelan people
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also expressed his condolences to Venezuela following the two earthquakes in a message posted on social media, in which he emphasised that Turkey shares the grief of those who have lost loved ones: “I extend my condolences and my wishes for a speedy recovery to the friendly people and government of Venezuela, and I wish a swift recovery to the injured,” he said. “As Turkey, we stand with our Venezuelan friends during these painful and difficult days,” added Erdoğan.
Shortly afterwards, Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, thanked Erdoğan for his message: “We would like to thank President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the brotherly people of Türkiye for their sincere words of solidarity with Venezuela following the earthquakes that struck our country. We deeply appreciate this message of support and the willingness expressed by Turkey to stand by the Venezuelan people at this very difficult time,” the Venezuelan leader wrote on Facebook.
More than 160 dead and nearly a thousand injured
The Venezuelan government has declared a state of emergency after two powerful earthquakes caused buildings to collapse in Caracas and forced the closure of the country’s main airport.
Initial reports indicated that the earthquakes had caused at least 32 deaths and more than 700 injuries, according to Delcy Rodríguez herself, although subsequent figures raised the death toll to more than 160 dead and nearly a thousand injured, and the number of victims is very likely to rise significantly.
Rodríguez also stated that, following the earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, which were recorded in the same region of the country, there were at least 20 aftershocks, according to data from the prestigious United States Geological Survey (USGS).
The first earthquake, with its epicentre 21 kilometres west of the coastal town of Morón, was recorded at 18:04 Venezuelan time (00:04 CET), according to the USGS. Less than a minute later, a second earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale struck a point some 45 kilometres from the first. Both had depths of 22 and 10 kilometres, respectively.
The earthquakes were even felt in Bogota, the capital of Colombia, where alarms sounded and some residents evacuated buildings as a precaution. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has also confirmed that aid is being sent, stating that “the two major earthquakes that just hit the great people of Venezuela are both massive in scale and have left a devastating number of deaths”.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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