International
The pope’s doctor reveals his last moments of life and that he wanted to “die at home”
The doctor of the Gemelli hospital in Rome Sergio Alfieri, coordinator of the team that attended Pope Francis, told this Thursday the last moments of the pontiff’s life: “I entered his room and his eyes were open. I checked that he had no breathing problems and tried to call him but he did not answer,” he said and explained that he decided not to take him to the hospital because his desire was to “die at home.”
“I didn’t respond to the stimuli, not even to the painful ones. At that moment I realized that I couldn’t do anything else. I was in a coma,” Alfieri explains in statements published in the Italian media.
According to the doctor, “if he had lost consciousness” he would have “had to follow the guidelines of his personal health assistant, Massimiliano Strappetti, who was like a son for the Holy Father” and who were those of “no therapeutic cruelty.”
“During his last hospitalization he expressly asked that intubation not be carried out in any case,” which “would have helped him breathe, but it would have been difficult to go back and extubate him, with the lungs infected with a virus,” he explains.
The one who was also his surgeon in two operations explained: “On Monday around 5:30 in the morning I received a call from Strappetti: The Holy Father is very sick we have to go back to the Gemelli. I warned everyone and twenty minutes later I was there in Santa Marta, it seemed difficult to think that an income was necessary.”
“We ran the risk of him dying in the transfer, I explained to him that hospitalization would have been useless. Strappetti knew that the pope wanted to die at home, he always said it when we were in the Gemelli. He died shortly after,” recalls Alfieri.
In another interview, he says that “he never exposed himself to danger.”
“It’s as if, approaching the end, I had decided to do what I had to do. As happened on Easter Sunday, “when he accepted the proposal of his personal health assistant Massimiliano Strappetti to go around the square through the crowd,” he adds.
About the cause of death, Alfieri explains that “it was one of those heart attacks that take you in an hour, maybe an embolus started and a blood vessel in the brain was occluded. Maybe there was a hemorrhage. These are events that can happen to anyone, but the elderly are more at risk, especially if they move little.”
According to the death certificate, signed by the director of Health and Hygiene of the Vatican City State, Andrea Arcangeli, the death occurred at 7:35 local hours (5:35 GMT) on April 21 in his apartment, the Vatican residence Casa Santa Marta, due to a stroke, which resulted in a coma and then a cardiocirculatory arrest.
International
Venezuela Earthquakes Spark Diplomatic Thaw With Former Critics
The devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela have triggered an unprecedented diplomatic thaw between Caracas and several governments that had maintained strained relations with the country, raising hopes that the humanitarian response could pave the way for broader international engagement under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The United States, Chile, Argentina, El Salvador and Israel were among the first countries to announce humanitarian assistance, deploy search-and-rescue teams or establish direct contact with acting President Delcy Rodríguez to coordinate relief efforts in the hardest-hit areas.
Canada also joined the international response by announcing humanitarian aid while opening a domestic debate over the importance of maintaining diplomatic representation in countries such as Venezuela to better respond to emergencies and assist its citizens abroad.
The wave of international cooperation marks a sharp contrast to the diplomatic tensions that followed Venezuela’s disputed presidential election on July 28, 2024, in which Nicolás Maduro was declared the winner.
In the aftermath of that vote, the governments of Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay publicly questioned the official election results, triggering one of the region’s most significant diplomatic crises in recent years.
The Venezuelan government responded by withdrawing its diplomatic personnel from several of those countries and demanding the departure of their representatives, further deepening the country’s international isolation.
The humanitarian emergency created by the twin earthquakes has now prompted renewed communication between Caracas and governments that had previously suspended or significantly reduced diplomatic engagement, underscoring how major natural disasters can temporarily reshape international relations despite longstanding political disagreements.
International
Venezuela Earthquake Death Toll Surpasses 1,700 as Search for Survivors Continues
Venezuelan authorities have raised the death toll from last week’s twin earthquakes to more than 1,700, as rescue teams continue searching for survivors in the country’s hardest-hit coastal region.
According to the latest official report released on Sunday, the powerful earthquakes, measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, have claimed at least 1,719 lives. National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez also reported that 5,034 people were injured, while 15,866 have been displaced and another 22,619 are receiving medical care.
The United Nations has expressed growing concern over the scale of the disaster, estimating that as many as 68,000 people could still be missing.
La Guaira bears the brunt of the disaster
The coastal state of La Guaira has suffered the greatest loss of life and the most extensive damage. The Venezuelan government has declared the area a disaster zone and placed it under military control as emergency operations continue.
Five days after the earthquakes struck, search-and-rescue teams remain on the ground, supported by additional heavy equipment and international rescue crews. However, hopes of finding more survivors beneath the rubble continue to diminish with each passing day.
One of the most dramatic rescue operations unfolded Monday in Catia La Mar, where emergency teams from El Salvador, Mexico, and Venezuela worked together to reach a 21-year-old man who has remained trapped inside a collapsed building since the earthquakes struck.
The twin earthquakes hit Venezuela on June 24, with the epicenter located between San Felipe and Yumare in the country’s northern region. The first quake, measuring magnitude 7.2, struck at 6:04 p.m. local time. Just 39 seconds later, a second and stronger magnitude 7.5 earthquake occurred farther to the southeast. Combined, the seismic activity lasted nearly three minutes, causing widespread devastation across several regions of the country.
International
Looting Spreads in Venezuela’s Hardest-Hit Areas After Deadly Earthquakes
Not even the wires were left behind at a small grocery store. Before the ground had even stopped shaking, looting and theft began in the areas hardest hit by the double earthquake that struck Venezuela.
Reports of robberies have multiplied in the coastal state of La Guaira, located near Caracas and now transformed into a landscape of collapsed buildings and debris.
Videos circulating on social media show groups of people removing boxes of household appliances from a damaged store. Other images show similar boxes being carried on top of vehicles and motorcycles.
Social media platforms have also been filled with accusations against police officers and military personnel who allegedly stole from homes and even from victims who died during the disaster.
A branch of a major pharmacy chain was looted, along with supermarkets and other businesses. Some residents have described the situation as “disaster tourism,” while others say the looting reflects hunger and desperation among people who lost everything in a country already facing a prolonged economic crisis.
“Is it fair that our own people turn against our own people?” said María Esther Bernal, 71, who rented commercial spaces to Chinese merchants, all of which were looted. “They left nothing behind, not even the wallpaper. They even took the cables,” she said.
“Next door, a man died. He was Chinese. People walked over his body while they looted the place. It was a supermarket,” she added.
An AFP journalist witnessed looting in La Guaira since Thursday, following the earthquakes.
Jenifer Mayora, 34, defended some of the actions, saying that “the things people took were because the owners of the stores allowed us to take them.”
However, she criticized the limited response from authorities. “I have been waiting for a mattress so my children can sleep,” she said.
Residents have expressed anger over what they describe as a slow and insufficient response from authorities after the double earthquake, which has left around 1,450 people dead and tens of thousands missing.
Communities are demanding not only faster rescue operations in La Guaira, but also stronger security measures and urgent assistance with food, water, and medicine.
Venezuela Earthquakes Spark Diplomatic Thaw With Former Critics
Venezuela Earthquake Death Toll Surpasses 1,700 as Search for Survivors Continues
Looting Spreads in Venezuela’s Hardest-Hit Areas After Deadly Earthquakes
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International2 days agoLooting Spreads in Venezuela’s Hardest-Hit Areas After Deadly Earthquakes
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International21 hours agoVenezuela Earthquake Death Toll Surpasses 1,700 as Search for Survivors Continues
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International3 days agoUN warns Venezuela earthquakes could affect up to 6.76 million people
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International21 hours agoVenezuela Earthquakes Spark Diplomatic Thaw With Former Critics