Under cover of earthquake aid, US and Israel deepen their hold on Venezuela

Syrian-Palestinian journalist Dima Khatib, who lives in Venezuela, lamented that she never thought she would see the day when Israeli soldiers would be in Venezuela—especially after former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chávez kicked out all Israeli diplomats from Venezuela and cut all relations with Israel in 2009 because of its war on Gaza.

Israeli soldiers are in Caracas! A first in 17 years in Venezuela.
Coming fresh from a genocide.. hopping to an earthquake. pic.twitter.com/aW9BA59Thz

— Dima Khatib (@Dima_Khatib) July 2, 2026

In the video, she says that the Venezuelan government’s post thanking Israel was met with disparaging comments from Venezuelans reflecting their contempt for Israel.

She added:

While Israelis are loathed around the world more and more, they show up in Caracas in their military uniform, unapologetic, coming straight from a genocide they are committing. What empowers them to feel this comfy in a country that has rejected and ejected them for 17 years?

Two powerful earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude struck northern Venezuela within minutes of each other on June 24. It has left at least 2,295 people confirmed dead, and 13,000 homeless and thousands missing.

Aid as a trojan horse

Vocal Politics journalist Calla Walsh said that the US, Israel, and Syria’s HTS regime were taking advantage of the earthquakes in Venezuela to use “humanitarian aid” as a Trojan horse to further entrench their military, intelligence, and political interests in the country:

The US, Israel, and Syria’s HTS regime are taking advantage of the earthquakes in Venezuela to use “humanitarian aid” as a Trojan Horse to further entrench their military, intelligence, and political interests in the country.

￭ The Trump administration sent warships, transport… pic.twitter.com/yc0dPHZvJ3

— VPol (@VocalPolitics1) July 1, 2026

SOUTHCOM has said that, under its direction, nearly 2,000 U.S. military personnel are “supporting” the State Department-led U.S. government earthquake relief effort in Venezuela. Operations are taking place near the epicenter of the June 24 earthquakes, as well as at logistics hubs in Puerto Rico and Curaçao, it said.

At the direction of #SOUTHCOM nearly 2,000 U.S. military troops continue supporting the State Department-led U.S. government earthquake relief response in Venezuela near the epicenter of the June 24 devastating earthquakes and at logistics hubs in Puerto Rico and Curaçao.… pic.twitter.com/kQXkkvGUnj

— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) July 2, 2026

Sanctions as a tragedy

Many are pointing out that years of U.S. sanctions had already ruined Venezuela’s hospitals, infrastructure, and rescue capacity long before the June 24 earthquakes struck, a tragedy the West has refused to acknowledge, let alone address.

Journalist Gary Wilson wrote in Struggle-La Lucha:

Caracas still cannot touch its gold in the Bank of England. It still cannot freely use nearly $5 billion in IMF Special Drawing Rights. Its oil revenue still moves through channels controlled by the U.S. government.

Solidarity with Venezuela starts from that fact. It means demanding the gold, the frozen accounts and the seized export revenue be returned to Caracas without conditions. It means refusing to let a Marine general’s arrival in a disaster zone be read as anything other than what it is: occupation deepening its hold under cover of rescue.

In the UK, Stop the War and Peace and Justice project are supporting Venezuela Solidarity Campaign’s call for the British government to release Venezuela’s gold to help fund relief efforts.

The Bank of England continues to refuse to give Venezuela back the billions of dollars of its gold deposited there, even as the country desperately needs it most. It’s brazen theft.

We support @VenSolidarity campaign to demand the UK hands it over. Sign the petition in link… pic.twitter.com/yHIJZLhCeY

— Stop the War Coalition (@STWuk) July 3, 2026

The U.S. and Israel, meanwhile, are trying to widen the cracks made by the earthquake in typically colonial style.

Featured image via the Canary