Trump Pledges U.S. Aid After Venezuela Quakes Kill Dozens

The U.S. Geological Survey issued two consecutive red alerts through its PAGER system, and estimated a 41% probability that fatalities could exceed 10,000 and a 17% chance they could reach 100,000. The authority also projected that the devastating earthquake could dent Venezuela's GDP by up to 7%.

Venezuela's acting president Delcy Rodriguez declared a state of emergency in a national address on Wednesday night, and later said 32 people were killed and 700 were injured, according to Reuters.

The quakes are among the strongest to strike the country in the past century. Venezuela lies in a seismically active zone where the Caribbean Plate meets the South American Plate.

The swift U.S. offer of assistance reflects a degree of diplomatic realignment between the Trump administration and the Venezuelan interim government, led by Rodriguez. Washington has exerted control over Venezuela's oil exports after a January military intervention that seized the country's then-president, Nicolas Maduro.

The U.S. has remained Venezuela's largest oil buyer since January, with the estimated value of US-controlled exports surging to $3.7 billion in April from $600 million in January, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, estimating $8 billion in flows have moved through the arrangement with little transparency or oversight. India and Spain are the next largest recipients.