Chicago's Venezuelan community mobilizes to help after devastation from earthquakes back home

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Tens of thousands of Venezuelans live in the Chicago area, and as their home country remains in an emergency phase following devastating earthquakes, many are focused on checking on loved ones while beginning to organize aid for those most in need.

A pair of powerful earthquakes struck north-central Venezuela on Wednesday evening, killing more than 180 people and injuring about 1,500 as of Thursday morning.

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At Rica Arepa restaurant in the Hermosa neighborhood, employees tried to carry on with their work while watching images of devastation from Venezuela on a television in the background.

"I have cried pretty much the entire morning, just seeing from my phone how things look," said Valeria, a manager at the restaurant.

While most staff members have been able to contact family members back home, some are still searching for loved ones.

"I have friends who lost their homes... My house thank goodness did not collapse. But my grandmother, my family. They are all scared and were afraid to go back inside," said waitress Ivana Suárez, speaking in Spanish.

Rica Arepa, which has three locations across the city, is donating 50% of one day's proceeds and 100% of that day's tips to earthquake relief efforts. The restaurant is working with the Illinois Venezuelan Alliance to determine how to get assistance to Venezuela as efficiently as possible.

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"We have to find a way to send medicine and non perishable food and goods... We have alliances. People who in the past have helped ship goods to Venezuela," said Luciano Pedota, executive director of the Illinois Venezuelan Alliance.

Pedota said organizers are still assessing what will be needed most as the situation continues to unfold.

"We were talking about sending tents also because there are a lot of people who are going to be displaced," he said.

The U.S. government is also responding. Speaking from the Middle East, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said search and rescue teams are being sent to help people trapped in collapsed buildings.
"That's the most immediate need right now is search and rescue efforts. They have a bunch of collapsed buildings and so they'll need a lot of help in terms of digging through that. Uh, the airport there is badly damaged, so we'll have to rely on the Department of War to deploy assets there," Rubio said.

Rubio did not specify how much aid would be sent as the crisis continues. President Trump said on Truth Social that he has instructed all government agencies to be ready to move quickly.