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Over 100 Venezuelans Deported From US Were Trapped In Hotel Destroyed by Earthquakes
Surviving a Nightmare: When Deportation Day and Disaster Day Collided
What Happened in Venezuela?
Imagine this: You are sent back to your home country after being in another land for years, and just hours later, the ground beneath your feet starts shaking violently. That is exactly what happened to over 100 people who were recently deported from the United States to Venezuela on a Wednesday that they will never forget.
Important Point: More than 100 people had just been deported from the U.S. and were staying in a hotel in Venezuela when two massive earthquakes struck. They had to be pulled from the rubble of the collapsed building.
The Day Everything Changed
Here is a step-by-step breakdown of what unfolded:
- A plane took off from Miami, Florida, carrying 146 Venezuelan deportees — including 19 women and 7 children — back to their home country.
- Hours after landing, the group was transported to a hotel called Hotel Santorio La Llanada, located in a coastal city in Venezuela called La Guaira. There, they underwent medical examinations and were given identification paperwork. They were told they would be allowed to head home the very next day.
- Then the earth shook. Two powerful earthquakes — measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale — struck the region within moments of each other. La Guaira was one of the hardest-hit areas.
One Woman’s Story of Survival
Lisbeth Portillo, 58, was on that flight. She had first crossed the U.S.-Mexico border back in November 2021 and had an asylum case still pending — meaning she was still waiting for a decision on whether she could legally stay in the U.S.
On that fateful day, here is what she experienced:
- She was staying in a second-floor room with 16 other women.
- She stepped out onto a balcony to look at the ocean and noticed the sky looked black. It was very hot.
- She went back inside, lay down on a bed — and then the shaking started.
- She began hearing strange sounds — like "papa, papa, papapa" — and saw the women next to her start to fall. Everyone was screaming for help.
- Almost immediately, a second earthquake hit.
- She fell and became buried under a heavy beam, but the shifting caused by the shaking actually helped her get free.
Important Point: Lisbeth had bruises all over her body, but she survived. "I was born that day," she said. "On the 24th, I was born again."
After escaping the rubble, Lisbeth and about 20 other deportees walked roughly five kilometers (about three miles) through the streets looking for help. They saw people running — some naked, some barefoot — all emerging from the wreckage. There was no phone service. She cried the entire way.
Eventually, they reached a National Guard building, where they were finally able to call their loved ones.
Another Survivor’s Desperate Fight for Life
Jenny Rodriguez, 24, was also on that flight. She was trapped under the debris of the collapsed hotel. A fellow deportee walked by, and she managed to free one hand, grabbed his pants, and begged for help. He pulled her out.
"I managed to free my hand from the debris, grabbed him by the trousers, and begged for help," she told the Telemundo network. "Thanks to God — and to him — I was able to get out of there."
Left in the Dark
Some families had no idea what happened. Liliana Rojas told Telemundo that she has been desperately trying to find her 33-year-old partner. The detention center in El Paso, Texas, where he was held only told her that he had been deported. After the earthquakes, no one was giving her any answers.
"No one is giving an answer about anything," she said.
The Bigger Picture: Deportation Flights
This story is not just about the earthquake — it also sheds light on how deportation flights work:
- In May, a tracking group called ICE Flight Monitor (run by Human Rights First) recorded 288 deportation flights to 38 different countries. Some of those countries include Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chile, and the Ivory Coast.
- The U.S. ran 12 deportation flights to Venezuela that month, operating three days a week.
- Flights to Venezuela had actually resumed in February 2025 after a 13-month pause.
This means that even if disaster strikes like an earthquake in a home country that has not received flights in over a year, deportees can be suddenly put in danger through no fault of their own, right when they are most vulnerable.
Important Point: Deportation flights to Venezuela resumed after a 13-month pause, putting newly arrived people directly in the path of a natural disaster.
Reunions and Relief
When Lisbeth finally managed to reach her husband in the United States, he could not believe she was alive. "I’m alive, I made it out of the rubble, I’m alive," she told him. Her husband contacted their children, who drove to pick her up and reunited with their mother the very next night.
The Human Cost
According to the Venezuelan government, more than 1,700 people were killed in the earthquakes. The exact number of survivors among the deportees is still unclear. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press.
Summary
| What You Need to Know |
|---|
| 146 Venezuelans — including women and children — were deported from Miami to Venezuela |
| They were taken to a hotel in La Guaira just hours before earthquakes struck |
| Two massive earthquakes (7.2 and 7.5 magnitude) collapsed the building |
| Survivors like Lisbeth Portillo and Jenny Rodriguez were pulled from the rubble |
| Lisbeth walked 5 km through the chaos before finding help |
| Over 1,700 people were reported killed in the disaster |
| Deportation flights to Venezuela resumed in February 2025 after a 13-month pause |
| Families of some deportees were left with no information about their loved ones |
Important Takeaway: These people had already survived the difficult journey of migration and deportation — and then, within hours of returning home, they faced a natural disaster that tested their will to live once again.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How many people were on the deportation flight?
A: There were 146 Venezuelans on the flight, including 19 women and 7 children.
Q: Where exactly were the deportees staying?
A: They were taken to Hotel Santorio La Llanada in La Guaira, Venezuela — a coastal city that was one of the hardest-hit areas.
Q: How powerful were the earthquakes?
A: Two earthquakes struck, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale — both are considered major earthquakes capable of causing severe damage.
Q: Are deportation flights to Venezuela still happening?
A: Yes. They resumed in February 2025 after a 13-month pause, and in May there were 12 flights, operating three days a week.
Q: Why couldn’t families reach or find their deported loved ones?
A: After the earthquake, communication lines were completely down, and U.S. authorities did not immediately provide information. The family detention center in El Paso only confirmed that individuals had been deported — nothing more.
