DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — A South Florida food truck owner says his mother’s survival after two powerful earthquakes struck Venezuela is “absolutely a miracle” and is pleading for urgent international help.
Josney Peroza, who owns Ukelele Foods and operates a Venezuelan food truck in Delray Beach, described his business as more than a place to eat.
WATCH BELOW: Local man calls mom’s survival a ‘miracle’ following Venezuela quakes
South Florida man calls mom’s survival ‘miracle’ after Venezuela earthquakes
“This is more than a food truck. It is a cultural Venezuelan experience that we share with the community,” Peroza said. “We call it Venezuela without a passport.”
Peroza said he first learned of the disaster from news alerts about two quakes, measured at 7.2 and 7.5 magnitudes, that struck seconds apart in his home country. At first, he thought it was just shaking, but that changed when the first images started coming in.
“When the first pictures started coming, and then the news 7.1, 7.6 together,” he said, “you have no words.”
Then a video arrived showing the building where his mother lived.
“Somebody sent me a video, and the video is about the building where my mom was living,” Peroza said.
Hours later, his brother contacted the family and confirmed their mother had been inside the building when it collapsed. Peroza said communication in Venezuela collapsed along with the buildings, with power out and connections cut.
“Our reality is that lot of communications are blocked into the country, so especially when there’s no power, it’s almost impossible to get connected with the people down there,” he said.
He spent hours not knowing whether his mother was alive. His family turned to prayer.
“Last night was complicated, and still, still complicated for many people,” he said. “Our family trusted the Lord so, so much, so for any reason we found the peace just to wait.”
About eight hours after the collapse, the call finally came.
“After 3 a.m. … we received a call, ‘Yeah, your mom is alive, your mom is alive. She’s under the rubble, we’re trying to get her out, we’re trying to get her out, and we need help,’” Peroza said.
He said relatives and neighbors worked with their bare hands to free her.
“The Venezuelan culture is well known because of the service for the people, and especially in this kind of situation,” he said. “But the main challenge that the people have right now in Venezuela, they’re working with bare hands; they don’t have enough equipment to manage this situation.”
Peroza said his mother has a broken hip, needs surgery and lost her home in the collapse. He described a wider humanitarian crisis in the coastal state of La Guaira and beyond.
“Nobody is good down in Venezuela, in La Guaira,” he said. “Nobody is good because there’s no power and there’s no water. They don’t have any home now, like my mom. She doesn’t have any home now.”
He said Venezuela was not prepared for a disaster of this scale.
“The country at this point doesn’t have any structure for this kind of situation,” he said. “We need ASAP international help for sure.”
The United States has said it will send crews to help.
“That’s hopefulness, that’s hopefulness for the people,” he said. “Right now is what all the people need, because you cannot listen to the people asking for help under the rubble, but they just can’t get out.”
Peroza said most of the buildings are made of concrete and metal, making rescue efforts with limited tools nearly impossible.
“How can you help with your bare hands? You just can’t. Our biggest tool right now is praising the Lord … and expecting, of course, for the international help,” he said.
When asked if he considers his mother’s survival a miracle, Peroza did not hesitate.
“Yeah, it’s absolutely a miracle,” he said. “I’m feeling peace because my mom is okay, but there are a lot of people in the same situation my mom was, and I have no words. I am so overwhelmed with this situation.”
As he watched video of the high-rise where she lived, he reflected on the scale of the collapse.
“It’s like, I don’t know, 12, 15 floors in that building,” he said. “I don’t know, maybe 100 families. No, it’s a miracle. I am telling you, there was a miracle.”
Officials confirm nearly 200 people are dead and at least 1,000 others are hurt. Peroza said he is worried about what comes next for survivors, with no clear plan for food, work or shelter.
“There won’t be any commercial activity in the coming days,” he said. “We don’t know what people are going to eat, we don’t know where the people are going to spend the night.”
For now, he believes he can do more good from Florida than by flying into the disaster zone.
“We don’t have any plans to go down there. I think that we are more helpful from here,” he said. “For example, my mom is gonna need another house, so how can you help her if you are down there, where there is no commercial activity, there is not even work to do? So this is the best place you can help — from here.”
Back at his food truck, Peroza said he plans to keep serving customers while sharing his country’s story.
“I believe this is part of our culture, get over the circumstances, and I think this is the way we can help,” he said. “We pray for Venezuela, but we work for Venezuela too, because it’s not about my mom, it’s no longer about my mom, it’s no longer about us, it’s about our people down there.”
Peroza said his mother’s rescue is proof that more lives can still be saved if the world responds.
“My mom’s rescue proved that there may still be people alive under the rubble,” he said. “There are families in Venezuela waiting for rescue, medical attention, information, and hope. Right now, Venezuela needs urgent humanitarian help. We need rescue teams, medical support, equipment, logistics, and international attention on the ground.”
He has a simple message for those still waiting by their phones for word from loved ones.
“Trust the Lord, trust the Lord, and praise the Lord,” he said. “Even when you don’t see it, He’s working,” Peroza added. “Even when you don’t see Him, He’s working.”
To help, a humanitarian group in Doral is collecting relief supplies for victims. Volunteers with the Global Empowerment Mission activated its emergency response team Thursday and are preparing a shipment of food, water and hygiene products.
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