Our Thursday Sociedad Media Now newsletter on the latest events across the region.
Venezuela’s Deadliest Earthquake in 125 Years — Tens of Thousands Feared Dead as Washington Readies Aid
CARACAS — Venezuela was struck by its worst earthquake in 125 years on Thursday, June 24 — a magnitude 7.2 foreshock followed 39 seconds later by a magnitude 7.5 mainshock that collapsed dozens of buildings across Caracas, shut down Simón Bolívar International Airport, triggered a tsunami warning for Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and killed at least 188 people according to acting President Delcy Rodríguez.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) warns of a 44% probability that the death toll could reach between 10,000 and 100,000 and Secretary of State Rubio promises a U.S. response that would be “big, fast, and effective” — deploying search and rescue teams from Fairfax County and Los Angeles within hours of the disaster.
U.S. Supreme Court Clears the Way to Deport 350,000 Haitians In TPS Ruling
MIAMI — The U.S. Supreme Court rules 6-3 on Thursday that the Trump administration can end Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 350,000 Haitians and 6,000 Syrians — removing most judicial oversight of future TPS terminations and opening the door to deportations affecting up to 1.3 million immigrants from 17 countries — as Justice Kagan accuses White House of racism, dissenting that the decision was tainted by racial considerations “so repellent the majority declines to put them in print.”
Oil Just Crashed to a Pre-War Low. Latin America Is Splitting in Two
U.S. crude drops nearly 4 percent to $70 a barrel on June 24 — a pre-war low that drained the last of the Iran war premium and split Latin America along its oldest fault line: Brazil pulled in a record $4.1 billion in foreign money in a single day as cheaper fuel eases inflation ahead of October’s presidential election, while Argentina’s Merval crashed 4.25 percent, Colombia’s COLCAP fell for a third straight day.
Venezuela — whose earthquake reconstruction now depends on oil revenues at their lowest price in years — faces the worst possible commodity environment at the worst possible moment
