Overview
- Two powerful earthquakes on June 24, measured at about magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, struck northern Venezuela and caused widespread building collapses and thousands of deaths.
- Eliezer Alfonzo Jr. was recalled by the Los Angeles Dodgers and made his major-league debut on Sunday, July 5, starting at catcher and drawing a standing ovation at Dodger Stadium.
- Several Latin American outlets reported that Alfonzo’s 16-year-old sister, Eliana, and his stepmother, Patricia, were found dead in the rubble of a Macuto hotel and the Dodgers subsequently issued a statement on the deaths.
- Alfonzo’s father, former big-leaguer Eliezer Alfonzo Sr., led local search efforts at the Hotel Eduards using heavy machinery, miners and rescue dogs that recovered the family dog and a cell phone from the wreckage.
- Teammates, the Dodgers and Major League Baseball have publicly supported Alfonzo and announced aid for quake relief, and officials say rescue and recovery work and humanitarian operations in La Guaira and nearby areas remain active.