Organizers of ‘Manitoba for Venezuela’ solidarity event looking for venue
Posted July 8, 2026 12:07 pm.
A Venezuela-born Winnipegger is working tirelessly to organize a solidarity event to support victims of the devastating twin earthquakes in the South American country he once called home.
Carlos Barrios, who has lived in Winnipeg for 37 years, is working with other Latin American-led organizations in Manitoba to create the “Manitoba for Venezuela” event.
But right now, the organizers do not have a venue.
And the clock is ticking, as the Canadian government has pledged to match donations dollar-for-dollar. The deadline is July 14.
For Barrios, a solidarity event such as the one being worked on is part of the larger effort towards disaster relief.
“It’s not just one effort, it’s gonna open something,” Barrios, who’s known to many as Cabu, told CityNews. “Because you know, this is not for three days or three weeks or three months, maybe not even three years for those people to recuperate. Some of them never, it’s forever.”
The death toll rose this week to 3,535, with another 16,740 people injured. Beyond that is an untold toll: those whose bodies have yet to be found. There are no official statistics on how many people are buried under the rubble, but more than 30,000 reports of missing people have been sent to a website set up by the Venezuelan opposition.
Many of those are in the hardest-hit state of La Guaira.
“When I saw La Guaira, my last home, my last house was in La Guaira,” Barrios said. “Right there is where I met my wife in La Guaira. So I start calling people, I start calling people outside of La Guaira. Nobody answers. The whole night I didn’t get answers from nobody.
“I suffer with them.”
Thankfully for Barrios, none of his friends or family were hurt.
Gustavo Correa, who is from Caracas, has lived in Canada for seven years, including two in Winnipeg. Through the chaos and heartbreak, he has hope for his people.
“Venezuelans are very resilient,” Correa said. “I am so proud of my people over there. The way that they, even facing this hardship that would drive anyone crazy, you see them fighting, trying to help whoever they can. I’ve seen so many stories of people who have already lost their family members, but they’re still digging through the rocks trying to see if they can help someone else. Solidarity is everywhere.
“I know this is extremely hard, but I have no doubt in my mind that the country is gonna be able to overcome this.”
–With files from The Associated Press
