The Trump administration is deploying U.S. emergency response teams to Venezuela in the wake of two high-magnitude earthquakes as local Catholic leaders mobilizes the Church’s support network. “We’re already deploying search and rescue teams from Fairfax County [in Virginia] and Los Angeles,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters June 25. “There will be some others we’ll add,” Rubio said. “That’s their most immediate need right now, search-and-rescue efforts: They have [many] collapsed buildings. And so they’ll need a lot of help in terms of digging through that.”

The earthquakes took place on June 24, with the first 7.2-magnitude earthquake recorded at 6:04 p.m. local time, and the second 7.5-magnitude earthquake occurring just 39 seconds later, according to the United States Geological Survey. “We’ve already stood up our disaster response teams at the Department of State and our humanitarian efforts,” Rubio said. “It’s something we did very well in Jamaica, after that storm, and it’s something we’re really prepared to do now.” The update came after Rubio issued a statement earlier in the morning pledging to carry out U.S. President Donald Trump’s directive for “all agencies of [the U.S.] government” to “get ready to move quickly.” “The United States extends our deepest condolences to the people of Venezuela following the devastating earthquakes,” Rubio said. “Our hearts are with all those who have lost loved ones, those injured, and the courageous rescue workers working tirelessly in the aftermath.”

Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace called on the international community to “mobilize in support of the Venezuelan people, and to send the necessary humanitarian assistance to alleviate their suffering.”

The global leader of the Jesuits said he was called to “renew his hope in Jesus” after his native Venezuela was struck by deadly earthquakes on Wednesday. “Beloved brothers and sisters, beloved people of Venezuela, we have been shaken again,” said Fr Arturo Sosa SJ, the Venezuelan-born superior general of the Society of Jesus, after two violent quakes 40 seconds apart erupted in northern Venezuela shortly after 6 p.m. local time on the evening of 24 June. The first quake, registering 7.2 magnitude was followed by a second with a magnitude of 7.5, one of the strongest tremors to hit the South American country since 1900. According to official figures, 1,430 people died in the “doublet” earthquake, which left 3,360 people wounded.

“Earthquakes have shaken our land, leaving destruction and great pain in their wake for the many victims, both for those who have disappeared and in terms of the loss of houses and businesses, our daily life has been deeply affected [and] transformed,” said Fr Sosa in a video message. More than 55,000 people were reported missing and more than 200 buildings collapsed after the earthquakes. The UN estimates that nearly seven million people may be affected by the disaster, including two million in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. “I feel deeply moved and called to renew hope in the one who can turn this shock into solidarity and fraternity,” said Fr Sosa. “The good news is that … Jesus bore our infirmities and pain to heal them, to show us the path towards fraternity which makes reconstruction and reconciliation possible.”

A statue of Mother Mary holding the Child Jesus was carried through the streets of Caracas after the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela. Surrounded by collapsed buildings and rubble, the wooden statue remained intact, giving many people a powerful sign of hope in the middle of so much suffering.

Maria Lozano, head of press and media at ACN International, who knows the affected dioceses well, said: “We have walked these streets, prayed in these churches and spent time with the priests and families who are now living this nightmare. That is why this tragedy seems so close to us. In every major catastrophe there comes a time when statistics are no longer enough to describe what people are living through.”

“Right now, our hope is that many more people will still be rescued alive. But everyone fears that, as the hours pass and more buildings are reached, the true scale of the tragedy will become painfully apparent. Right now, there are parents waiting for news of their children, children searching for their parents, and families who still don’t know if their loved ones are alive under the rubble. Only God and faith can alleviate that suffering.”

ACN is in continuous contact with the Venezuelan Church and is preparing to support both emergency assistance and the reconstruction of damaged church infrastructure, so that local communities can continue to receive spiritual, pastoral and humanitarian support in the coming months.