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Joarlys Rodríguez, a Venezuelan migrant who resided in Chile, returned to her country after the devastating double earthquake on June 24, 2026, and found the worst possible news: her three children and her mother had died, discovered lifeless and embraced under the rubble of their home.
In an interview with Telemundo, Rodríguez described her experience as "horrible" and summed up her anguish with a phrase that says it all: "It is a pain of both a daughter and a mother."
It was his brother who located the bodies on the very night of the earthquake.
According to the family's account, Joarlys's mother had gathered the children—her own grandchildren—in the bathroom of the house when the tremors began, and there they found her: she was holding them close.
Rodríguez, who emigrated to Chile in search of better living conditions like so many other Venezuelans, left his children in the care of his mother while he worked abroad.
The earthquake turned that separation into an irreparable loss.
He is currently in Venezuela and cannot return to Chile due to his emotional state.
The double earthquake that shook Venezuela on June 24 is considered the most destructive in the country's history since 1900.
The first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2, occurred at 6:04 PM local time, with its epicenter near Morón in Carabobo state. Just 39 seconds later, a second tremor measuring 7.5 in magnitude struck, with its epicenter near Yumare in Yaracuy state.
The hardest-hit states were La Guaira, Caracas, Miranda, Aragua, Carabobo, and Falcón.
As of July 3, the official death toll has risen to 2,645, with more than 12,666 injured and 6,462 people rescued, according to the Venezuelan government’s Ministry of Communication.
However, these figures have been widely disputed: the UN estimates up to 50,000 missing persons, and the United States Geological Survey calculated with a probability of between 42% and 44% that the total number of dead could exceed 10,000 people.
The case of Joarlys is not the only one that reflects the drama of the Venezuelan diaspora in the face of this catastrophe.
Another heartbreaking testimony is that of Cristian Rebolledo, a Venezuelan who lost his daughter and two grandchildren in Tanaguarenas and yet continued to participate in the rescue efforts.
In Chile, more than 700,000 Venezuelans reside, many of whom left their families in Venezuela.
In light of the magnitude of the tragedy, the Chilean government issued humanitarian safe conducts to allow Venezuelans with expired passports to return to their country to reunite with their loved ones or assist in reconstruction efforts.
This Saturday, nine days after the initial earthquake, a school in Caracas collapsed, highlighting that the structural emergency in Venezuela is far from over.
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