ZAKA heads to Venezuela: humanitarian aid or covert mission?

ZAKA heads to Venezuela: humanitarian aid or covert mission?

The news has spread like wildfire: Israel is deploying ZAKA, one of the world's most experienced rescue organizations, to assist the victims of the devastating earthquake that struck Venezuela. The catch: it is doing so despite decades of diplomatic tensions between Jerusalem and Caracas. The reaction on social media and forums was swift, and most people are not buying it.

The earthquake no one expected in the Atlantic

The first red flag is geological. Venezuela is not on the Pacific Ring of Fire; it faces the Atlantic. Naturally occurring earthquakes in that region are almost nonexistent. Although the Caribbean plates show some activity, a high-magnitude quake in that area is, at the very least, unusual. This has raised alarms among those who see more than a natural disaster here.

Delcy Rodríguez, ZAKA and the geopolitical factor

Suspicions point to Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela's vice president, and to the growing influence of external actors in a country already semi-controlled by foreign powers. The arrival of an Israeli organization — with search and rescue capabilities — at a moment of maximum institutional fragility fuels suspicions that the humanitarian aid may be a cover for other purposes. As some analyses put it, "they are going to take possession, possession."

The irony escapes no one: Israel has Gaza next door, with "countless people buried alive," as is often recalled, and yet it chooses to send teams across the Atlantic. The decision seems more geopolitical than humanitarian.

An earthquake that divides opinion

Between those defending the official version and those suspecting a setup, the debate is on. The question hanging in the air is whether ZAKA, an organization with a proven track record in disasters, will truly be welcomed, or whether its presence is the first step toward something bigger. The only certainty is that Venezuela, after the earthquake, will never be the same.

Israel's dispatch of aid to Venezuela looks like a humanitarian gesture, but the geological context, the political backdrop and the criticism it has received make it, at the very least, an ambiguous move. It remains to be seen whether ZAKA's teams return empty-handed or with something more than gratitude.