Related videos:
Delcy Rodríguez, the acting president of Venezuela, publicly thanked the Cuban leader Miguel Díaz-Canel this Thursday for his expressions of solidarity following the devastating earthquakes that struck the country on Wednesday, June 24, the strongest recorded in Venezuela since 1900.
In a message posted on X, Rodríguez directly responded to Díaz-Canel: "On behalf of the people of Venezuela, I thank the President of the Republic of Cuba, Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, for his words of solidarity and for always standing by Venezuela in such difficult times."
Hours earlier, Díaz-Canel had posted on X his condolences and confirmed Cuba's participation in the relief efforts: "Our heartfelt condolences and full solidarity with the government and people of Venezuela, for the terrible earthquakes that shook the center of the country this Wednesday. Cuban health personnel are actively cooperating in providing care to those affected."
In a second message published hours later, Rodríguez expanded on the gesture: "A fraternal hug to the Cuban people, who once again demonstrate that the brotherhood between our countries is based on solidarity in action."
The earthquakes that prompted the exchange occurred on Wednesday at 6:04 PM local time, with magnitudes of 7.1 and 7.5, separated by just 39 seconds. The stronger one is the most powerful recorded in Venezuela in over a century, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), which issued a maximum red alert and estimated a 42% probability of between 10,000 and 100,000 possible fatalities.
The updated official report this Thursday indicated 164 fatalities and 971 injuries. The state of La Guaira has been declared a disaster zone, with dozens of buildings collapsed. Rodríguez described the situation as "a true tragedy" and announced a fund of 200 million dollars to address the emergency.
Cuba maintains thousands of health collaborators deployed in Venezuela—about 12,930 according to data from July 2025—who were not fully repatriated after Nicolás Maduro's fall in January 2026 and who immediately joined the assistance efforts. Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla also expressed support for Venezuela.
Gratitude towards Díaz-Canel takes on a particular political dimension in the current context. Cuba was not included in Rodríguez's initial message of thanks to the international community, where he did mention Donald Trump, the United States, and other countries. The tweet directed at the Cuban leader came hours later, in direct response to his post, indicating a gesture of diplomatic reciprocity rather than a spontaneous mention.
In that same context, the United States deployed search and rescue teams from Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles to Venezuela, in what Secretary of State Marco Rubio described as "a whole-of-government response" that will be "large, swift, and effective."
Rodríguez also publicly thanked Trump —something unthinkable under Maduro's government— and asserted that "Venezuela will never forget the hand extended to our people in these very difficult times," in another sign of the diplomatic shift the country has been experiencing since she took on the role of interim president on January 5, 2026.
Filed under: