Venezuela Earthquakes: U.S. Sanctions Impede Rescue Efforts as Death Toll Soars

The death toll from twin earthquakes that hit Venezuela Wednesday night is expected to reach into the thousands as rescuers continue to search for bodies trapped in the rubble. Hospitals are rapidly reaching a breaking point, and thousands of survivors have been left homeless. Reporter Andreína Chávez’s building was one of the countless residences in Venezuela’s capital Caracas and its surrounding region that were damaged by the massive quakes. Chávez was on the street when the earthquakes struck, and says she “saw at least three buildings partially collapse right in front of [her].” As Venezuelans band together to find survivors, the country is calling for international support and resources to step up critical rescue and recovery efforts. “We weren’t prepared for a disaster of this magnitude,” says Chávez. “Venezuela is a country that has been under U.S. sanctions … as well as a country that has an infrastructure that is very deteriorated. We have public services that are very deteriorated, and all of that has been something that has really added to this tragedy.”

Democracy Now!
30-Year Sentence for Transporting Zines Is a Five-Alarm Fire for Free Speech

Daniel Sanchez Estrada’s 30-year sentence for moving a box of pamphlets is likely just the start for criminalizing possession of information.

The Intercept
Trump Can’t Spin His Way Out of His Two Latest Crises

He’s trying to defy the reality of a green Reflecting Pool and a lost war.

The Atlantic
Trump's War on Iran Ends with a "Triumphant" Tehran and a Diminished U.S.: Vali Nasr http://www.democracynow.org/2026/6/18/vali_nasr_trump_iran_deal #TACO #BlameTrump #IllegalIranWar #IranMOU #IranWon #AmericaLOST #uspoli
Trump’s War on Iran Ends with a “Triumphant” Tehran and a Diminished U.S.: Vali Nasr

The United States and Iran have officially signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war in Iran. The 14-point agreement includes an immediate end to fighting on all fronts including Lebanon, an end to the U.S. naval blockade on Iran and the full resumption of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. It also proposes easing oil sanctions on Iran, unfreezing Iranian assets and launching a $300 billion investment fund to rebuild Iran, all while tabling the question of Iran’s nuclear program, which is instead set to be negotiated over in the coming months. “The United States is more eager for this war to end than Iran is,” says professor Vali Nasr, who teaches at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. “In Iran, they’re very triumphant.” We discuss the long-term effects of the war, from the growing U.S. distrust of Israel, to the new generation of political leaders in the Islamic Republic, to the evolution of Iran into a major power player in an increasingly multipolar world.

Democracy Now!
Iran Has Humiliated Trump

Officials in Tehran got the United States to sign a document that even Americans described as degrading, mortifying, a total capitulation.

The Atlantic
Trump finally brought US together:
EVERYBODY HATES THE #TrumpSurrender
CNN puts Trump on blast with slew of withering reviews on 'tremendous blunder'
His ugly & callous remarks avoiding culpability about the mass murder of Iranian girls was disgusting
https://www.rawstory.com/trump-2677058478/
#BlameTrump