Sam Brown Pérez traveled to Venezuela convinced she would be there for just a few weeks. Her goal was strictly administrative: to renew the transit visa she needed — as a U.S. citizen married to a Venezuelan — to remain legally in the country.
It was a routine procedure that, under normal circumstances, would take between 15 and 20 days. She never imagined that the trip would turn into a life-changing experience.
What began as a simple immigration process ended up trapping her during one of the worst tragedies Venezuela has experienced in recent years. Fate had other plans.
A wait that changed completely
Pérez arrived in Venezuela in late April. The law requires the visa renewal to be processed within Venezuelan territory rather than at a consulate in the United States. Everything seemed to be proceeding normally, although bureaucracy delayed the delivery of her documents due to administrative changes at the immigration office.
She was finally informed that she could pick up her visa extension on June 25.
But that never came. On June 24 — a public holiday in Venezuela celebrating St. John — she decided to spend the day with her brother-in-law and other relatives at the beaches of La Guaira, a place that would make global headlines just hours later.
She spent much of the day by the sea. On the drive back to San Antonio de los Altos, where she was temporarily living with her husband’s family, they picked up a cousin who had just landed at the airport. Minutes later, the unthinkable happened.
“We thought the car was broken”
The first earthquake caught them by surprise while they were in the car. At first, no one understood what was happening. They thought the vehicle had a mechanical issue or that the driver was playing with the brakes — until they looked up.
“We saw the signs moving like waves. Everything was swaying. That’s when we realized it was an earthquake.”
The shaking seemed endless. Standing beneath an overpass, watching the concrete, signs, and structures sway violently, everyone was gripped by fear.
When the shaking finally stopped, they dropped off their relative at her apartment and went up to the seventh floor — where another family member lived — to check if the building had held up.
Fortunately, San Antonio de los Altos suffered only minor damage. The story was very different on the coast.
The most terrifying silence
The next day, she was supposed to pick up her immigration documents. She never got the chance; government offices had closed due to the emergency. Maiquetía International Airport suspended commercial operations, authorizing only humanitarian aid flights.
Her immigration process was put on hold, but she decided she couldn’t just sit idly by; she admits that anxiety was consuming her.
“I felt I had to do something. I couldn’t just watch the news without helping.”
She spoke with her husband, Víctor Pérez, who was in Tampa, and together they found the fastest way to respond to the emergency.
While he collects donations from the Tampa Bay area and other U.S. cities via Zelle, Cash App, and GoFundMe, Sam receives the funds in Venezuela and immediately purchases the supplies that disaster victims urgently need.
“We don’t wait for international shipments or large cargo loads; we buy right away and deliver right away.”
Immediate aid where it’s needed most
Within days, the first donations began to arrive, followed by many more.
As Pérez explains, the outpouring of solidarity has been extraordinary. Contributions have already surpassed $30,000, and every dollar is quickly converted into drinking water, food, diapers, medication, gauze, generators, rescue tools, and medical supplies. But they don’t just help families; they also supply the rescue workers and medical personnel who are working tirelessly amidst the rubble.
“The needs have existed since day one. If you send aid from another country, it can take weeks to arrive. We buy right here and deliver directly to those who truly need it.”
That direct contact also prevents supplies from going missing or sitting in collection centers without ever reaching the victims.
The smell she will never forget
In the course of her rounds in La Guaira, she has witnessed scenes she never imagined she would see: buildings of 16 or even 18 stories reduced to mountains of concrete; entire neighborhoods turned to rubble; and families desperately searching for their loved ones.
And one detail has haunted her ever since: “By the second day, you could already smell the bodies.” The sentence hangs in the air — nothing more needs to be said; the pain speaks for itself.
The silence that paralyzes everyone
During one of her rounds, she witnessed a rescue operation from a distance. She describes it as one of the most striking moments of her entire life.
When rescue teams think they hear a voice beneath the rubble, something remarkable happens.
“All the machinery shuts down, engines fall silent, motorcycles stop revving, cars come to a halt; no one speaks, no one moves. I had never experienced such a heavy silence. You don’t know whether to breathe or stay completely still.”
Yet that silence represents hope, because as long as there is a voice beneath the rubble, there is also the possibility of finding a life.
A tragedy that continues
Although some families have found temporary shelter, thousands of people remain homeless. Many are literally living on the street.
“Without clothes, without food, without water — without absolutely anything — and that is why we are staying here: to help them.”
While she waits for immigration offices to reopen so she can complete her paperwork, Sam will keep doing exactly what she decided to do just hours after the earthquake: help.
She doesn’t know when she’ll be able to return to the United States, nor when she’ll finally receive her documents. But today, those things have taken a back seat; she realized that when tragedy strikes head-on, there are moments when paperwork can wait, but people’s lives cannot.
From the Tampa Bay area, dozens of families continue to send aid. In Venezuela, an American woman who arrived solely to renew a visa became—unintentionally—a bridge of solidarity between two countries united today by a single cause: restoring a glimmer of hope to those who lost everything. If anyone wishes to donate to this cause, they can do so via Zelle or Cash App at +1 314-556-9713, or through the GoFundMe page: https://gofund.me/aa00eb9ce.