Last May, Donald Trump He maintained in the White House that, thanks to the United States military intervention that led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela had become “a happy country” to the point that “People are dancing in the streets.” For the Republican magnate, it was the same tutelary regime in Washington that caused the spontaneous choreographies of joy. The disaster of proportions caused by the double earthquake, with its human and economic losses, constitutes at this time a political problem for the US, according to The New York Times.
Trump had even indulged in bad taste jokes on his Truth Social platform by displaying a map of Venezuela with the background of an American flag and the legend “51st State”. The events of January 3 had had a double purpose: to menacingly recompose the hegemony of the United States south of the Rio Grande and to turn Venezuela into an economic appendage like almost exclusive supplier of energy, gold and rare earths. For that, Trump ordered the continuity of a neomadurism, reconverted and personified in the “president in charge”, Delcy Rodriguezwho was no longer subject to punishment. Bilateral relations were restored. Washington lifted sanctions against the Central Bankfavored the normalization of ties with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and an agreement with the creditors of its swollen foreign debt. The National Assembly (AN) freed political prisoners, reformed the hydrocarbons law in return, created new regulations that favor the entry of private capital into mining and wants to create the conditions for US companies to participate in the renewal of the aging electrical grid.
On the basis of this new articulation, Venezuela received 5.5 billion dollars for its sale of oil to the United States, money that is currently managed by the guardian country and represents 44% more than in the same period in 2025. “For the first time in more than a decade, the country’s wealth is really benefiting the people of Venezuela, but there is still much to do,” said the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.
Based on the expansion of foreign investments, not just North American, in hydrocarbons, the South American country expected to end 2026 with a growth of up to seven points of GDP. The disaster has made all predictions crumble. The future is contaminated by the misfortunes that erupted from the earth. The word “reconstruction”, so repeated in Venezuela after the departure of Maduro, it has another, much broader and more urgent meaning since the tragic June 24. Trump and Rodríguez exchanged messages in which they treated each other as “partners” and “friends.” The distance between those words and the facts is beginning to be tested with another urgency.
The dilemma
USA has sent specialized search teams and urban rescue who work piecework at ground zero. The State Department has committed a $150 million relief fund. Economic sanctions were suspended for three months. The question that is beginning to be repeated in Caracas has to do with the scope of aid beyond these first gestures and what the role of the United States will be in raising a devastated country back up.
“During these months, many of us accepted the idea that there was a gradual strategy. The ‘three phases’ plan announced by the Secretary of State and that sought to dismantle, step by step, the structure of Chavismo while building conditions for a democratic transition. But on June 24 the country changed. The earthquakes broke that pattern in the same way that they broke thousands of buildings,” wrote Walter Molina Galdi on the portal The great village.
Trump boasted weeks ago of owning Venezuela “very high popularity rates”. With his usual sarcasm bordering on contempt, he even talked about an eventual presidential nomination. “My numbers shot through the roof.” According to the consulting firm Meganalisis, The magnate’s approval had fallen from 75 points in March to 47 points in April. Meanwhile, a survey by Atlas Intel and Bloomberg shows that its image fell eight points in May to rank 45th%. “Here, in Venezuela, we have to tell President Trump that no one is happy,” said union leader Carlos Salazar, taking the president’s own words. The impatience of the population regarding the results of the new alliance, which mainly reaches large companies, takes on another dimension at this time.
After the double earthquake, China sent specific aid to Venezuela for the victims. “The president Xi Jinping has arranged a contribution of 17 million dollars to support recovery efforts after the earthquake: two million dollars that will be allocated to the housing construction plan and an additional 15 million dollars in supplies, equipment and essential materials,” Rodríguez reported. Four days ago, the official channel Telesur reported that Russia “evaluating” sending humanitarian aid. Possibly the performance of Beijing and Moscow would have been different if Venezuelan history had not been split in two on January 3. This withdrawal represents an implicit recognition of the guiding power that the United States tries to exercise, and which has been evident in these months with the visits of high-level business, political and military figures. The manifest hegemony causes a dull discomfort in sectors of the United Socialist Party (PSUV).
Promises and projects
“We will be there for our new and great friends”the tycoon promised on June 24. What could be the North American role in the reconstruction of Venezuela? Will your roadmap change? Will there be strong economic support or will it be a business opportunity for the private sector? Last February, Trump promoted the real estate initiative of a “New Gaza” that would rise on the rubble of Israel’s military action and a forced exodus of its population. Skyscrapers and luxury hotels for a “Middle Eastern Riviera.” Could the South American country be the laboratory for some initiative of this type, although without luxurious constructions? At least 189 buildings completely collapsed after the earthquake. Preliminary evaluations by NASA estimate 59,000 buildings damaged or destroyed. For now, American businessman Moishe Mana decided to support Venezuelans affected by the tragedy. Mana, 70, is a billionaire, real estate developer and entrepreneur of Israeli origin who has strong connections with Venezuelan migration in Florida. He is considered the largest private land owner in downtown Miami. Together with other businessmen they have sent shipments to help the inhabitants of La Guaira. “They are already at ground zero,” a spokesman said. Nobody knows what will come next.
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