Earthquakes leave Venezuelan tourist town in ruins
Al Jazeera reported heavy damage in Puerto Viejo, where tourism businesses were wrecked after deadly earthquakes.
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
1 min read
Deadly earthquakes have left the coastal tourist town of Puerto Viejo in Venezuela’s La Guaira state badly damaged, Al Jazeera reported. The destruction matters because the town’s local economy depends on visitors, and many of the businesses that serve them have been reduced to rubble.
Al Jazeera correspondent Zein Basravi reported from Puerto Viejo, describing extensive damage to hotels, restaurants and other buildings along the beachfront. The report showed the scale of the destruction in a town built around coastal tourism.
Puerto Viejo’s beachfront businesses are central to its economy, according to Al Jazeera. With hotels and restaurants destroyed, the town faces an economic blow alongside the physical damage caused by the quakes.
The Venezuelan government now faces the task of rebuilding the town and trying to revive its tourism-dependent economy, Al Jazeera reported. The report did not give a timeline for reconstruction or specify the level of government support expected for business owners and residents.
Al Jazeera described the earthquakes as deadly, but did not provide casualty figures, quake magnitudes or a detailed breakdown of damage beyond the affected hotels, restaurants and other beachfront structures in Puerto Viejo.
The report was published July 3, 2026.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.