Deported Venezuelans Missing or Dead After Earthquake Strikes Hours After Flight

At least some of the 146 Venezuelans flown out of the United States on the day a major earthquake hit their homeland are confirmed dead, with dozens more unaccounted for.

146 Venezuelans were deported from the U.S. on the same day a major earthquake struck Venezuela.
Search and rescue operations are ongoing, with an unknown number of deportees confirmed dead.
Many deportees are feared missing, with families and officials unable to account for their whereabouts.
The timing of the deportation flight and the disaster has drawn international attention to the circumstances of the removal.
The full death toll among the deported group has not been established as search efforts continue.

At least some of the 146 Venezuelans deported from the United States on the day a major earthquake struck their country are dead, and dozens more are missing, with search teams still working to account for survivors.

The deportation flight landed as the earthquake tore through Venezuela, leaving the returnees exposed to the disaster with no established support network waiting for them on the ground.

Families and officials have been unable to locate an unknown number of the 146, according to reporting reviewed by the Wail. At least a handful of deaths have been confirmed, though no final count has been released.

The overlap of the removal operation and the natural disaster immediately drew scrutiny. The deportees had no advance warning of the conditions they would land into.

Venezuela's government has not issued a comprehensive accounting of the group's fate. U.S. immigration authorities have not publicly commented on the status of those removed.

Search and rescue operations are ongoing across the affected region. A clearer casualty count among the deported group is expected as recovery efforts advance in the coming days.