A Tucson man is among thousands who died in the recent earthquakes in Venezuela, which rocked the country just hours after the man's deportation flight arrived there, his family confirmed to local media.
Yamilk Alberto Caldera, 32, was aboard a deportation flight that landed in Venezuela on June 24, his cousin said in a social media post. The flight held 146 other Venezuelans, including seven minors, according to the Venezuelan government's repatriation program.
Heavy machinery operates Thursday to clear debris at the site of a collapsed building in the aftermath of the June 24 earthquakes in La Guaira, Venezuela.
Most, or all, of the arriving Venezuelans on Flight 164 were put up for the night in a state-run holding facility in the state of La Guaira. But the concrete building collapsed after two major earthquakes hit that evening, and few appear to have made it out alive, the New York Times reported.
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"He tried so hard to get out of there, but he couldn't," Caldera's cousin Deisy Urbina told KVOA.
Caldera had been detained by ICE in Tucson on June 20 and was deported to Venezuela on June 23, a statement from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said.
"When an individual is no longer in ICE custody, ICE is no longer responsible for them," the DHS statement said.
Caldera arrived in the U.S. in December 2021 and was released from federal custody at the time, DHS said. DHS claimed Caldera received a final order of removal in July 2022, but the Star has not independently confirmed the claim.
The June 24 earthquakes' death toll reached 2,295, as of July 1, with more than 11,200 injured and thousands more still missing, according to Jorge Rodríguez, Venezuela's National Assembly president.
Caldera lived in Tucson with his brother and mother and had a young son in Venezuela, his family told local media.
Contact reporter Emily Bregel at ebregel@tucson.com. On X, formerly Twitter: @EmilyBregel
Emily Bregel
Border reporter
