Rep. Carlos Giménez said more than 100 Venezuelans missing after a deportation flight arrived hours before Venezuela’s June 24 earthquakes are the result of an “act of God,” rejecting questions about whether the Department of Homeland Security is responsible.
When the two back-to-back earthquakes slammed Venezuela, a deportation flight from Miami had already landed.
Rep. Carlos Giménez (R-FL) is now weighing in on the fallout: 146 Venezuelans were on a U.S. deportation flight from Miami that arrived in Venezuela on June 24 just hours before the first of two major earthquakes, a 7.2 and then a 7.5 magnitude quake, struck.
The deportees were reportedly taken to Hotel Santuario La Llanada in La Guaira, a hotel that collapsed during the earthquakes. At least one hundred of those people remain missing beneath the rubble.
Venezuela’s official death toll is nearing 2,000, and officials continue efforts to locate and rescue survivors.
Giménez has been a longtime staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, and during the discussion he did not soften his stance when asked whether the U.S. government—specifically the Department of Homeland Security—should be held accountable for the missing deportees.
The questions came from CNN’s Boris Sanchez in a Tuesday interview. Sanchez asked Giménez about Venezuela and about a report that the flight’s passengers had been close to the earthquakes’ epicenter, noting that many family members say they still cannot get answers.
Sanchez asked whether DHS has responsibility “to account for those missing.”
Giménez said he believes the tragedy cannot be pinned on DHS. “No, I don’t, I think that they were deported legally from the United States,” he said. He then removed the qualifier and delivered a sharper line. “They were deported legally from the United States. The fact you had a tragedy afterwards, you can’t pin that on DHS. I mean, it’s just an act of God. So, no, I don’t.”.
He added that he does not believe anyone could have foreseen the earthquake. “Now. I feel for them. and I hope that they turn out to be okay. but that’s not something DHS should be accountable for. That’s an act of God, and nobody could have foreseen that an earthquake was going to happen in Venezuela.”.
For families searching for answers, the argument runs into a brutal timing detail: the arrival from Miami on June 24 happened only hours before the earthquakes hit, and the hotel where the deportees were reportedly taken later collapsed, leaving at least one hundred people unaccounted for.
Carlos Giménez DHS deportees Venezuela earthquakes Hotel Santuario La Llanada La Guaira Miami deportation flight Boris Sanchez Donald Trump immigration
Act of God my ass, timing is everything.
So he’s saying earthquakes just magically happen and nobody should be responsible? That’s easy to say when it’s not your family. 100 people missing and he’s like “act of God”??
I’m not even sure what DHS is supposed to do like… prevent the ground from shaking in Venezuela? But if the flight arrived hours before and they went to that hotel, doesn’t that at least raise a question about why that hotel? Kinda seems like someone dropped the ball even if it’s not “their fault.”
This dude always talks like Trump didn’t do anything wrong. Deportation flight landed then the hotel collapsed, and now it’s “nobody could have foreseen it.” Yeah no, I don’t buy it. If they can track flights and dates, they can at least be like “hey don’t send people there right before a disaster” even if it was ‘unknown.’