Miguel Rojas, a Venezuelan baseball player for the Los Angeles Dodgers, confirmed that his family members who were in Venezuela are all safe.
ABC News and AOL reported on June 28 that two powerful earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, struck Venezuela just two hours before Rojas’s game in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on June 24.
At the time, Rojas’s wife was in Caracas, the capital, renewing her passport, while their children were there to obtain Venezuelan citizenship. Caracas is located a mere 10 kilometers (about 6.2 miles) south of the earthquake-affected region.
On June 26, before a game against the Padres in San Diego, California, Rojas told reporters that two buildings completely collapsed just two blocks from where his family was staying. He’s incredibly grateful that his family is alive and safe with him.
Rojas, who played for many years in La Guaira state, which was heavily impacted by the earthquake, expressed his anguish: It breaks his heart to see his teammates and former players losing their families and children. He can’t sleep well at night.
During that day’s series game between the Dodgers and the Padres, both teams wore caps featuring VZ to show solidarity with the Venezuelan people and support their recovery efforts.
As of June 28, the Venezuelan government reported 1,450 fatalities, 3,150 injuries, and 12,721 displaced individuals. The United Nations (UN) estimates that approximately 50,000 people remain unaccounted for.