Nicolas Maduro

By Sabiu Abdullahi

The death toll from the powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 has increased to 3,889, according to updated figures released by the country’s authorities on Thursday.

Government officials said the twin earthquakes, which measured magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, also left nearly 17,000 people injured. The disaster displaced close to 18,000 residents after their homes were destroyed.

The latest report, which National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez shared on Telegram, showed that the number of confirmed deaths had risen from 3,811 to 3,889.

As relief efforts continue, interim leader Delcy Rodriguez has appealed for the release of Venezuelan assets frozen abroad to help fund humanitarian assistance and reconstruction projects.

The United Nations is seeking about $300 million to support recovery efforts in the country. The Venezuelan government is also in talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over access to its financial assets, according to IMF spokesperson Julie Kozack.

La Guaira, a coastal state that suffered some of the worst destruction, recorded extensive damage. Officials said more than 800 buildings sustained damage, while 190 structures collapsed completely.

Although emergency agencies have reduced search-and-rescue operations two weeks after the disaster, many families are still searching for missing loved ones.

One of them is Ciro Ocando, who believes he has identified the spot where his two teenage sons remain buried beneath the rubble in Playa Grande, La Guaira. Ocando said he no longer expects to find them alive and now hopes only to recover the bodies of his 13-year-old and 18-year-old sons.

By Hadiza Abdulkadir

Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has said she would consider giving her Nobel Peace Prize to former U.S. President Donald Trump, drawing swift clarification from the Nobel Institute that such a move would not be possible.

Machado made the remark during a public discussion about international support for Venezuela’s democratic struggle, suggesting Trump’s foreign policy pressure on Caracas deserved recognition. Her comments sparked widespread reaction on social media and prompted questions about whether a Nobel Prize can be transferred.

In response, the Nobel Institute said the rules governing the Nobel Peace Prize are clear and final: once awarded, the prize cannot be given, reassigned, or donated to another individual. “The decision is final,” the institute said, underscoring that the prize is granted solely to the named laureate, to her in this case.

Machado, a former National Assembly member, was barred by authorities aligned with Nicolas Maduro from running in Venezuela’s 2024 general election.

She backed a stand‑in candidate widely considered to have won the vote, although Maduro claimed victory. Ballot audits by independent observers revealed irregularities in the official results.

By Abdullahi Mukhtar Algasgaini

A U.S. military operation to apprehend Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro resulted in airstrikes across the country on Saturday, killing and injuring an undetermined number of Venezuelan civilians and military personnel.

The attacks have drawn international condemnation and plunged the nation deeper into crisis.

The strikes, which targeted locations including the capital Caracas, successfully led to the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. They have been flown to New York to be held in a Manhattan prison. The mission has polarized U.S. politics, with Democrats roundly criticizing President Donald Trump’s decision.

Venezuela’s government declared a state of emergency, condemning the action as “imperialist aggression.” The European Union stated it is closely monitoring the volatile situation.

The airstrikes mark an escalation of prolonged U.S. pressure on Venezuela. In preceding months, U.S. operations against vessels allegedly linked to Venezuelan drug trafficking had already resulted in multiple deaths at sea.

The incident occurs against a backdrop of severe domestic violence in Venezuela, where state security forces have long been implicated in extrajudicial killings and crackdowns.