Date: June 29, 2026 l Reporter: Kingston Nwosu
LA GUAIRA, Venezuela — Argentine footballer Lucas Trejo has suffered an unimaginable personal tragedy after the bodies of his wife and two young children were recovered from the rubble of a collapsed apartment building following the powerful earthquakes that devastated northern Venezuela.
The heartbreaking discovery came after an intensive 74-hour search involving rescue workers, teammates, family members, and volunteers who had refused to give up hope of finding the family alive. Authorities confirmed that Trejo's wife, Yanina Maranella, and the couple's two children, Aarón and Ainhoa, died when their residential building in La Guaira collapsed during the twin earthquakes that struck the country on June 24.
Trejo, a 38-year-old Argentine defender who plays for Venezuelan second-division club Sport Marítimo de La Guaira, was in Caracas with his teammates preparing for a league fixture when the devastating earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude rocked the country's northern coastline.
Immediately after the disaster, the footballer rushed to the disaster zone, joining emergency responders in digging through the debris with his own hands in a desperate effort to locate his family. Friends, teammates, and rescue personnel worked around the clock, hoping for a miracle as the search continued for more than three days.
Sadly, rescue crews eventually recovered the bodies of Trejo's wife and children beneath the collapsed structure, bringing the agonizing search to a tragic conclusion.
The club confirmed the deaths in an emotional statement, expressing profound sorrow over the loss and extending condolences to Trejo and his extended family. Fellow footballers across South America also paid tribute, offering messages of support while requesting privacy for the grieving player during what many described as the darkest moment of his life.
The tragedy has further highlighted the enormous human cost of Venezuela's worst earthquake disaster in more than a century. According to official figures, the earthquakes have claimed well over one thousand lives, injured thousands more, displaced entire communities, and left rescue teams continuing to search for survivors and missing persons across the affected regions. International humanitarian agencies and emergency response teams remain on the ground assisting with rescue operations and relief efforts.
Trejo joined Sport Marítimo de La Guaira earlier this year after spending much of his professional career in Argentina and other South American leagues. Known as a committed defender and respected teammate, he has received an outpouring of sympathy from football clubs, players, supporters, and sporting organizations around the world.
As Venezuela continues to recover from the catastrophic earthquakes, the loss suffered by Lucas Trejo has become one of the disaster's most heartbreaking stories, symbolizing the profound personal tragedies experienced by countless families caught in the devastation.