By Alejandra García Elizalde on June 29, 2026 from Caracas
Venezuela was just beginning to recover from the wounds left by the January 3 attack when a new tragedy struck the country once again. On that day, U.S. bombs rocked Caracas and La Guaira, leaving more than a hundred dead. Among them were 32 Cuban fighters who lost their lives defending Venezuelan soil. Months later, while the nation was still seeking solace in its grief, the earthquakes of June 24 opened a new chapter of loss and uncertainty.
This time, it wasn’t the explosions of an imperial attack. It was nature. But the devastation felt all too familiar. Last Wednesday, Venezuela was rocked by a sequence of two major earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, separated by just 39 seconds: the most powerful natural phenomenon recorded in the country in over a century.
More than thirty Cuban citizens remain missing or have been confirmed among the fatalities buried under the rubble. They are workers, young people, mothers, children—people who had made Venezuela their second home and who now form part of the shared grief between two peoples accustomed to resilience.
However, even as tons of concrete and dust were still being cleared away, Cuba made a decision that required no speeches: not to abandon Venezuela. On Sunday afternoon, the first contingent of Cuba’s Special Search and Rescue Brigade landed. Along with the 13 specialists came Tito, Eva, and Choco—three dogs trained to find life where silence seemed to have won the battle.
They arrived with their backpacks, their equipment, and the weariness of a country that is also going through one of the most difficult periods in its history. In Cuba, power outages, material shortages, and constant uncertainty in the face of new military threats from the United States continue. “Cuba is next,” President Trump has said bluntly, more than once. Even so, they crossed the sea to come and save lives.
They were welcomed by the Cuban ambassador, Jorge Luis Mayo, with a long embrace. That gesture seemed to encapsulate the relief, concern, and pride of Cubans living in Venezuela who feel this tragedy as if it had also occurred in their own neighborhoods.
There was no time to rest. As soon as they arrived, the Cuban rescue teams joined the search efforts, while the Cuban Medical Brigade here remained where it had never left: in hospitals and health centers responding to an unprecedented emergency. There, alongside Venezuelan doctors and professionals from around the world, they are sustaining a healthcare system that today bears the weight of thousands of injured people.
Amid so much pain, small moments began to emerge that restored hope. In recent hours, videos of members of the Cuban brigade participating in rescues amid the rubble have gone viral. One of them was captured forever on film.
A young man was found alive in La Guaira nearly 120 hours after the twin earthquakes. As rescuers made their way through the shattered concrete, a paramedic ran alongside the stretcher.
“Make way! We’re here with you!” she shouted as they moved toward the ambulance. It wasn’t just an order to clear the path. It was a certainty.
Just as he was about to get into the vehicle, while she gently adjusted the young man’s shirt to preserve his dignity, she spoke to him again in a soft voice that stood in stark contrast to the chaos surrounding her:
“You’re not alone. We’re not going to leave you alone.”
Amid sirens, dust, and people running, those words seemed directed at an entire country as well. In the wake of the tragedy, there are still people willing to stay; there are still hands sifting through the rubble, dogs sniffing out hope, doctors who refuse to abandon their posts, and a people willing to stand by another people in their darkest hour; not giving up hope that more will be found alive.
Solidarity makes no noise. It doesn’t always make the headlines. It doesn’t change the course of an earthquake. But it changes the way people navigate the darkness. And while Venezuela continues to hope for more miracles amid the ruins, Cuba once again steps up, just as it has so many times before.
