The northern region of Venezuela has been in a state of emergency since two earthquakes with magnitudes of more than 7.0 struck within a minute of each other on Wednesday evening. The epicenters of the twin quakes was roughly 100 miles west of Caracas.
The first earthquake to strike the region was registered at a 7.2 magnitude and it was followed 39 seconds later with a 7.5 tremor. Miguel Rojas is among the nearly 100 active MLB players who hail from Venezuela.
According to Alden González of ESPN, Rojas’ wife and two children were not from from a building that collapsed and he is working to get them back to the United States.
Miguel Rojas’ wife and kids were in Caracas, two blocks away from where a building collapsed on Wednesday. They are safe, he said. So is the rest of his family in Venezuela. He’s trying to bring them to the US as quickly as possible.
— Alden González (@Alden_Gonzalez) June 26, 2026
Rojas was born in Los Teques, which is Southwest from Caracas. He originally signed with the Cincinnati Reds as an international free agent in November 2005 before joining the Dodgers organization seven years later.
Brusdar Graterol and Edgardo Henriquez also are Venezuelan natives. Graterol, from Calabozo — south of Caracas — is not with the team and thus didn’t speak with reporters about family members who may have been affected. Henriquez, who is from the eastern region of Cumana, said his family was not impacted.
The United States, Mexico, El Salvador, Spain, Chile, Italy, France, Argentina, Colombia and the Dominican Republic are among the countries that have provided various forms of relief aid and assistance. President of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, confirmed more than 900 deaths since the earthquakes.
Thousands others are homeless and nearly 1,500 structures have been damaged or destroyed.
Dodgers support Venezuela
Like others began doing so on Thursday, Dodgers and San Diego Padres players wore “VZ” on their caps during the series opener at Petco Park. The teams are expected to continue doing so throughout their weekend series.
The current situation is similar to earlier this year when the Dodgers and other organizations were attempting to get their players back stateside when the U.S. military conducted a raid that resulted in the capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro.
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