LatAm in Focus: Financing Venezuela’s Future in the Aftermath of Disaster

But, as the world rallies in support of Venezuela, can this disaster present an opportunity to attract the resources needed to accelerate the country’s long-term reconstruction? In this episode of Latin America in Focus, AS/COA’s Luisa Leme speaks to representatives from two organizations that have been responding to Venezuela’s humanitarian and financial challenges for years: the International Rescue Committee (IRC) and CAF – The Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean.

"Beyond clearing the rubble and providing that life-saving assistance right now ... Venezuelans will be in need of assistance for the next months, maybe for the next [few] years,” said Rafael Velasquez Garcia, who leads the IRC’s emergency response team in Venezuela. He explains the earthquakes add another 1.4 million people in need of humanitarian attention to the almost 8 million whom aid organizations had identified before June 24, highlighting that preexisting challenges with an underresourced healthcare system and inconsistent water and electricity supply have only been heightened. Velasquez stressed the need to keep donor attention on the country for the long haul: “There is a need to recover livelihoods, to restart an economy, [and] to refurbish, fix, and get schools running.”

On July 8, the UN launched an appeal for an additional $296 million to fund the emergency response, on top of the $632 million it had requested for Venezuela at the beginning of 2026. 

It’s a financing challenge that Ángel Cárdenas Sosa, CAF’s general manager of Infrastructure for Development, says multilateral development banks are working around the clock to meet and will require private sector support. “This is not going to be a 12-month operation,” he warned, but “I think there’s commitment in Venezuelan society that this has to happen as fast as possible.” Already, CAF has established a Fund for the Recovery and Reconstruction of Venezuela to channel donations for the rebuilding effort. And as the interim government continues with plans to restructure its debt, Cárdenas Sosa offered optimism that the disaster could prove “a key catalyst for transformation.” 

Our guests

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Rafael Velasquez Garcia is the International Rescue Committee’s emergency response lead for the Venezuela earthquakes. He has also served at the IRC’s lead coordinator across Colombia and Venezuela, as well as Mexico. Velasquez has two decades of experience managing humanitarian responses to displacement, conflict, and emergency situations in various parts of the world, including Guatemala, Jordan, Lebanon, Nigeria, Somalia, and Yemen.

Velasquez holds an MA in International Peace and Conflict Studies from the United Nations University for Peace, where he was a visiting lecturer from 2014 to 2019.   

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Ángel Cárdenas Sosa is an economist who currently serves as the general manager of infrastructure for development at CAF – the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean. Cárdenas Sosa has more than 20 years of experience in multilateral banking at both CAF and the World Bank, and has held roles such as general secretary, auditor general, and director of infrastructure and energy projects. He has also taught at universities in Argentina, Spain, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Cárdenas Sosa was a 2019 Eisenhower Fellow and holds graduate degrees in business and public administration. 

This episode was produced by Associate Producer Khalea Robertson. Luisa Leme is the podcast’s executive producer and this week’s host.    

See information on how to donate to CAF’s Recovery and Reconstruction Fund and how to support the IRC’s work in Venezuela.

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The music in the podcast is “Norwegian Wood” performed by the C4 Trio for Americas Society. Find out about upcoming concerts at musicoftheamericas.org. Share your love for Latin America: Join Americas Society.  

Opinions expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect those of Americas Society/Council of the Americas or its members.