Venezuelans deported from U.S. hours before earthquakes hit are missing, some confirmed dead, families say

VenezuelaVenezuelans deported from U.S. hours before earthquakes hit are missing, some confirmed dead, families sayA young man who was killed had planned a reunion with his mother, and a man who’s missing had just called a relative minutes earlier.Men search for survivors stand atop a mountain of rubble in La Guaira, Venezuela, on Saturday.Matias Delacroix / APShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJune 29, 2026, 9:39 PM EDTBy Carmen SesinSome families in Venezuela are mourning and others are desperately trying to find loved ones who had been deported from the U.S. and arrived hours before the earthquakes struck last week. Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscriptionGet exclusive reporting, live Q&As and ad-free reading.The deportees were being processed at the Hotel Santuario La Llanada in the coastal state of La Guaira, one of the hardest-hit areas. Families have confirmed some deportees have died while others are unaccounted for.Enit Hernández told NBC News her husband, José Rafael Rossi Ydrogo, is one of the missing deportees. José Rafael Rossi Ydrogo.Obtained by NBC News“On Tuesday he called me and said they told him to gather his belongings because he was leaving the next day. That was the last time I ever heard from him,” Hernández said from Texas, where the couple lived. Hernández said that her husband was detained during an ICE check-in and that even though he was told a judge would review his case, he was deported Wednesday. In Fort Worth, Rossi Ydrogo owned a construction business and remodeled homes. The couple came to the U.S. in 2021 and lived in New Jersey with their daughter before they moved to Texas.“My entire life changed in just one day. There was no need for him to go through all of this. I’m here alone with my daughter now. It’s not easy,” she said. Hernández said Rossi Ydrogo had just called his brother in Caracas 20 minutes before the earth started to shake.Rotating images showing the Hotel Santuario La Llanada on March 20 and after the earthquake...