Sanctions complicate Venezuela quake relief as US offers help

Venezuela has declared a state of emergency after two strong earthquakes brought down buildings, including in Caracas, and left at least 164 people dead, Al Jazeera reported. The disaster has put fresh scrutiny on whether sanctions and politics will slow aid deliveries to a country already under heavy economic strain.

The United States said it was coordinating with Venezuelan authorities and preparing assistance. US Department of State official Jeremy Lewin wrote on X that Washington was sending search-and-rescue teams, medical and humanitarian supplies and other resources in the first days after the earthquakes, according to Al Jazeera.

US President Donald Trump also pledged support on Truth Social, saying he had told government agencies to be ready to move fast. Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodriguez, thanked Trump for offering support and solidarity, Al Jazeera reported.

Sanctions remain a hurdle

Washington has imposed sanctions on Venezuelan individuals and groups since 2005, Al Jazeera reported. The European Union and the United Kingdom have also had measures in place since 2017, citing political repression and democratic backsliding under former President Nicolas Maduro.

The EU says its restrictions include an arms embargo, limits on equipment that could be used for internal repression, travel bans and asset freezes on listed people. The US eased some sanctions this year, including measures on Rodriguez, and the Treasury Department said in April it would issue licences allowing transactions with certain Venezuelan banks and individuals, according to Al Jazeera.

Sarah Schiffling, deputy director of Finland’s HUMLOG Institute at the Hanken School of Economics, told Al Jazeera that sanctions can slow humanitarian work even when aid itself is permitted. She said financial restrictions can make it harder for nongovernmental organisations to move money into the affected country to pay staff or suppliers, while paperwork and import controls can delay goods and personnel.

Schiffling also pointed to Venezuela’s weakened domestic market. UN figures cited by Al Jazeera show nearly eight in 10 Venezuelans were living in poverty in 2024, with many lacking reliable access to food and essential medicines.

Michael Fakhri, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, said after a 2024 visit that sanctions had been among the main factors limiting the government’s ability to run social protection programmes and provide basic public services, Al Jazeera reported. He also linked food insecurity, malnutrition and declining livelihoods to large-scale emigration.

Political concerns surround the response

Al Jazeera reported that the US partially lifted its economic restrictions after US forces abducted Maduro in a January raid. Rodriguez’s interim government has since had steadier relations with the Trump administration, which has sought renewed US investment in Venezuela’s oil sector, according to the outlet.

Schiffling told Al Jazeera that relief work should be impartial, neutral and independent, but warned that powerful donor governments may use aid to build influence. She said organisations working in insecure areas may also need armed escorts, which can make them appear aligned with armed groups.

Al Jazeera reported that Rodriguez signed an oil reform law in January aimed at encouraging private foreign investment in the industry, valued at an estimated $8bn. The Trump administration has described the arrangement as mutually beneficial, but Al Jazeera said neither side has released a public accounting of oil volumes sold or revenue collected.

The earthquakes could create openings for more direct US involvement in immediate relief needs, including drinking water infrastructure, and in longer-term rebuilding, Al Jazeera reported. For aid groups, the immediate challenge is getting help to survivors while avoiding delays from financial controls and political pressure.

This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.