Cheering a less-known military victory: Venezuela earthquake response shows losing USAID was no big deal
On June 24, 2026, two earthquakes hit Venezuela back-to-back. They registered 7.2 and 7.5, numbers that are pretty high on the Richter scale. The military sent in the Marines (and other branches). The State Department worked with charities such as Samaritan’s Purse, World Vision and Catholic Relief Services to avoid the confusion that occurred in the successful response to the January 12, 2010, earthquake in Haiti.