LA GUAIRA, Venezuela –– On June 24, 2026, two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela, collapsing buildings, displacing families, and leaving communities across the country facing a long road to recovery. Send Relief—the compassion ministry of the Southern Baptist Convention—is responding through the National Baptist Convention of Venezuela and local churches that were already serving these communities long before the disaster. Working alongside these trusted partners, Send Relief is helping provide emergency food, clean water, shelter, hygiene supplies, and medical care, along with the hope of Christ. The images below document that response and the Venezuelan believers leading it.
Media note: Members of the news media are welcome to use these photos with attribution to “Send Relief / Rob Witzel.”
LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026: Pastor Antonio Corzo, with the Venezuelan National Baptist Convention (CNBV) leads a song of worship with a group of CNBV, Send Relief, and International Mission Board leaders and volunteers, near some of the hardest-hit areas from the June 24, 2026, earthquakes that struck the country. (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026 (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026: International Mission Board (IMB) President Paul Chitwood reads posts detailing missing persons in La Guaira, Venezuela, following the earthquakes that struck the region June 24, 2026. (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026 (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026: Venezuelan National Baptist Convention (CNBV) Director of Social Service Mendelssohn López leads a time of prayer with a group of leaders and volunteers from the CNBV, Send Relief, and the International Mission Board. Together, the groups are responding through long-standing local church relationships to meet the needs of the many thousands of people who are homeless, injured, and mourning, following the earthquakes there on June 24, 2026. (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026: From right, Send Relief Vice President Jason Cox, Send Relief Area Director Matt Waldraff and International Mission Board (IMB) President Paul Chitwood meet with Venezuelan National Baptist Convention (CNBV) leaders and local church volunteers helping their community in the aftermath of the earthquakes that struck June 24, 2026. (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026 (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026: Venezuelan National Baptist Convention (CNBV) General Director Pastor Elier J. Romero (center) meets with International Mission Board (IMB) President Paul Chitwood and Send Relief Vice President Jason Cox, amidst the organizations’ response to earthquakes that struck the region June 24, 2026. (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026 (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026: Venezuelan National Baptist Convention (CNBV), International Mission Board (IMB), and Send Relief leaders meet during response efforts following the earthquakes that struck Venezuela June 24, 2026. (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026 (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026 (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026 (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026 (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026 (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026 (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026 (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026: Local rescue workers take a moment to rest in the midst of frantic efforts to recover many thousands of people buried by collapsed buildings, following earthquakes that devastated the region June 24, 2026. (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026: Venezuelan National Baptist Convention local church volunteers take a moment to pray as they serve their community devastated by earthquakes that struck the region June 24, 2026. (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026 (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026: Children enjoy a moment of levity in the midst of destruction wrought by back-to-back earthquakes here June 24, 2026. (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026 (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — July 8, 2026: Throughout the impacted area, collapsed buildings trapped thousands of people. (Photo courtesy Send Relief/Rob Witzel)
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