Drone Footage Captures Search for Survivors in Collapsed Buildings
Abelardo Rincón, originally from Venezuela, had established a life over six years in Georgia, USA, working at a car dealership, marrying, and anticipating the birth of his daughter. However, during President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement efforts, he was detained by US authorities.
His parents and pregnant wife anxiously awaited updates while he was held, until he was deported last month along with more than 140 other Venezuelans.
Rincón arrived in Venezuela on 24 June and, while still in custody, contacted his family in Atlanta. He and other deportees were accommodated in a hotel near the coast.
Hours later, twin earthquakes struck Venezuela, resulting in at least 2,200 deaths, over 10,000 injuries, and approximately 50,000 missing persons according to UN data.
Rincón and several deportees from Flight 164 were among those reported missing, leaving their families desperate for information amid the compounded trauma of detention, deportation, and natural disaster.
Abelardo Rincón's family is desperately searching for him
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for immigration enforcement agencies such as ICE, issued a statement without case-specific details when contacted by the BBC.
"This flight safely reached Venezuela and all illegal aliens on board were returned home," a DHS spokesperson said. "When an individual is no longer in ICE custody, ICE is no longer responsible for them."
The Trump administration has detained and deported thousands of undocumented migrants, including suspected terrorists and gang members, while millions have left voluntarily, according to US officials.
Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated in February that nearly 3 million undocumented individuals had left the US over the prior 13 months, including an estimated 2.2 million self-deportations and over 713,000 deportations.
Venezuelan authorities housed the deportees from last week's flight—reportedly including 19 women and seven children—at Hotel Santuario La Llanada in La Guaira after medical examinations and documentation processing. This area suffered significant damage and building collapses due to the earthquakes.
Public information has been limited following the disaster, despite government efforts to provide contact numbers.
Many deportees, including Rincón, had reached out to family members confirming their return to Venezuela shortly before the earthquakes.
Jose Rincón, Abelardo's grandfather, told BBC Mundo he had viewed approximately 200 bodies, including at a morgue in Caracas, in search of his grandson.
He attempted to visit the destroyed hotel where the deportees were staying but was denied access by Venezuelan authorities, who informed him there was "no life" at the site.
"If we could just see what we need to see - if I could see the rubble, I'd be satisfied - but days have gone by and I still haven't found him, alive or dead... So what am I supposed to do?"
Darwin Eliecer Serrano Lopez, 35, contacted a cousin at 05:32 local time to announce his return after four years in the US. The first earthquake struck less than 30 minutes later.
"We drove all night," said his cousin, Paola Chacón, whose brother received the initial call alerting the family of Serrano Lopez's return.
Relatives reported that Serrano Lopez was detained in Chicago and held in four detention centers before being deported.
Chacón expressed her belief that her cousin was deceased after nearly a week without news.
"So many days have passed… we aren't getting any answers," she said. "But we are going to stay here until we can take [Darwin's body] home."
Darwin Eliecer Serrano Lopez was deported after four years of living in the US
The family of Daniel Alejandro Nunez, 28, another passenger who contacted his mother upon return while still in custody, also faced conflicting reports.
His stepfather, Jose Alejandro Abache, told BBC Mundo they had searched hospitals and morgues extensively.
Families separated by immigration status for years now face the unimaginable prospect of losing loved ones immediately after forced repatriation.
Mildrey Sarazo, wife of Darwin Serrano Lopez, had not seen her husband in three years and had yet to inform their daughters, aged nine and 15, about the situation.
She awaited confirmation and the return of her husband's body, who "didn't want to come back yet" from the US.
"We want to bury our relatives," she said. "We want them to hand him over so we can identify him and be certain."
Mildrey Sarazo, wife of Darwin Serrano Lopez
Some Flight 164 passengers survived the hotel collapse and recounted their experiences of escaping the rubble in a country they had hoped to leave behind.
Lisbeth Portillo, 58, was in a second-floor room with 16 other women when the building collapsed.
"I saw the woman next to me start to fall… they were all screaming for help," she told the Associated Press. "I was born again - God gave me a second chance."
Several days passed before some families received news of survivors.
Relatives located Anderson Daniel Salcedo, 22, at Caracas's university hospital and informed his mother, who traveled to the capital, only to discover his legs had been amputated.
Salcedo had lived in the US for three years, sending remittances home, before being deported on Flight 164 and trapped under rubble for nearly two days.
His grandmother, Marlene Lozano, told :
"He spent 40 hours in that hole, he didn't have an ID, they couldn't account for him because he had no documents. We had no way to communicate with him and didn't know anything."
"Here we are praying, asking God to give him strength and courage. We know he won't be the same anymore - he's missing his legs - but we love him, just the way he is."
