From Mexico to Venezuela: A diaspora’s race to save lives

When devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela, the response extended far beyond the country’s borders. Across Latin America and beyond, Venezuelans living abroad mobilized within hours, raising funds, organizing volunteers, and building trusted networks to deliver aid directly to survivors.
In Mexico, where decades of earthquake preparedness have fostered a powerful culture of civic solidarity, Venezuelan migrant, producer and anti-racist investigator Mariana Álvarez Castillo helped spearhead a grassroots relief effort alongside the communities of La Pitahaya Vegana, Masala CCS and Levantemos la Casa. Through a rapidly assembled network of volunteers, donors, and trusted local partners, they delivered urgently needed aid directly to those affected.
In this interview, Álvarez reflects on the huge efforts of the team, how the Venezuelan diaspora transformed grief into collective action, the challenges of coordinating humanitarian relief across borders, and what this remarkable mobilization reveals about the resilience, solidarity, and evolving identity of Venezuelans around the world.
Gabriela Mesones Rojo (GMR): What motivated you to organize so quickly after the earthquakes?
Mariana Álvarez Castillo (MÁC): Beyond the obvious shock and grief of knowing that so much irreversible damage had occurred in a matter of seconds, I think living in a seismic country like Mexico has taught us how critical the first hours after a disaster like this are. In the face of an event of this magnitude, the response has to be immediate.
Here, the collective memory of the 1985 and 2017 earthquakes is still very much alive. These events are part of Mexico’s recent history, and they led to the development of protocols, early warning systems, drills, and emergency guidelines. Because of that, we quickly understood that the scale of the catastrophe in Venezuela would be devastating.
We also know that our country, Venezuela, is not prepared to cope with earthquakes like these.
Just a couple of hours after the quake, reports from La Guaira began to emerge, and by the following morning we were already making decisions about how to organize. That same day, we launched our initiative, and within seven hours we had delivered supplies, meals, and clean drinking water to four public hospitals thanks to the overwhelming response from donors. During that same week, we also established a collection center at La Pitahaya Vegana, made possible by an incredible network of volunteers.
GMR: What does this mobilization say about the Venezuela that exists beyond its borders?
MÁC: Venezuelan migrants are learning how to build community outside our country. Unlike countries such as Mexico, Puerto Rico, or China, whose migration histories span generations and have produced well-established communities abroad—like Mexicans in Chicago or California, or Puerto Ricans in New York—we don’t have a long-standing migrant tradition to draw upon. We’re creating that collective memory now.
Migration on this scale is a recent phenomenon in Venezuela’s history, so it isn’t always easy to organize or know how best to respond. But in this case, different small groups quickly reached the same conclusion: we had to send money for whatever was most urgently needed — water, tools, medical supplies, medicines, and more recently, orthopedic fixation materials for survivors with severe injuries caused by collapsed buildings.
There is also a deep sense of guilt that comes with being far away, and even with being safe. When you can’t be there to support your loved ones during such a horrific moment, the best response is action: finding a way to solve something, however small; contributing something, however insignificant it may seem.
GMR: What has been the biggest challenge in coordinating aid from Mexico — fundraising, logistics, or building trust?
MÁC: It’s important to say that experiencing the solidarity of the Mexican people has been deeply moving. They have supported us by donating, bringing supplies to collection centers, volunteering at fundraising events, helping facilitate the travel of the Topos rescue brigades, and offering words of encouragement and heartfelt embraces.
We know that Venezuelan migrants in other countries haven’t always experienced the same level of empathy, and feeling alone and foreign during a tragedy like this can be heartbreaking.
Perhaps the greatest challenge for us as migrants in Mexico is exactly what many people who lived through the earthquakes would have preferred: not being there. Walking through streets far from home, going to places where life appears to go on as usual. Going to work and functioning as though everything is normal. Finding the strength to focus on the present. Trying to pay attention to anything other than the relentless flow of news about the earthquakes. Essentially, pretending we’re okay.
GMR: Venezuela has a long history of distrust regarding humanitarian aid. How are you ensuring transparency?
MÁC: The three of us are friends who work on academic and culinary projects. Throughout this process we’ve stood behind the initiative with our personal identities and social media accounts, but also through Antroposabores, Conuco, and La Pitahaya Vegana — trusted community-based projects that have spent years building strong, deeply committed networks.
From the beginning, we also partnered with the Caracas restaurant Masala CCS, which was preparing to open its doors to the public when the earthquakes struck. Instead, they chose to donate their facilities, staff, and kitchen to prepare meals for doctors, rescue workers, and survivors.
Through their volunteers, we’ve built a network in Caracas that allows resources to reach civilians directly, without intermediaries or bureaucracy. Donations go straight to a trusted member of our network in Caracas, who purchases whatever is needed and delivers it directly to the places where it’s required, avoiding customs procedures or checkpoints that could delay or divert aid.
We also follow a strict accountability policy: every donation is recorded, every purchase receipt is kept, and photos, videos, and testimonials are shared on our social media. This allows every donor to see exactly how their contribution was used and the direct impact it has had.
More recently, we launched ‘Levantemos la Casa’ (‘Let's Rebuild the Home’), a series of events organized by the Venezuelan community in Mexico City, where artists, poets, producers, designers, filmmakers, and entrepreneurs donate their work to raise funds. Every dollar goes directly toward supporting those affected by the earthquakes through cultural gatherings that strengthen community while providing relief.
GMR: Is there anything about Mexico’s model of civic organization that you’d like to see replicated in Venezuela?
MÁC: I’m not an expert on the subject, but I would say that Mexico’s earthquake early warning system is something worth replicating. Depending on the earthquake’s epicenter, the alarm can sound up to a minute before the shaking begins, giving people precious seconds to activate emergency protocols that are taught in schools and reinforced through nationwide drills held at least once a year. Those few seconds can make an enormous difference and save lives.
I would also highlight Mexico’s emphasis on prevention and structural safety. Building this culture hasn’t been easy; Mexico’s seismic history is marked by tremendous pain. But those experiences have led both society and specialists to implement stricter building regulations, reinforcement measures, and regular structural evaluations.
We’ve seen how the lack of preventive policies and resilient infrastructure has left Venezuela especially vulnerable. At this point, it often feels as though citizens themselves must organize collectively, beyond the limits of government institutions.