Tragic Twist: Family Deported Hours Before Earthquake, Husband Perishes in Collapse

Less than 10 days ago, Johana Pineda lived in Nashville, Tennessee, with her husband, Richard Pereira, and their 7-year-old son, Richie. The couple worked for Amazon, and their son attended martial arts classes during summer break.

Pineda and her son are now in Venezuela after the family was deported, and her husband is dead. Pereira was killed on June 24 when a hotel near Caracas that housed more than 100 people who were deported from the U.S. collapsed during deadly earthquakes that struck the coast of Venezuela.

Over 2,500 people have died as a result of last week's earthquakes, Venezuelan officials said, and nearly 50,000 remain unaccounted for, according to the International Rescue Committee.

"It's inexplicable," Pineda told ABC News in Spanish.

Pineda said she and her family entered the U.S. in 2022 on humanitarian parole. They initiated the asylum process and complied with routine check-ins for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including one in December.

But in June, Pineda said, immigration authorities during a check-in presented two options: detention or voluntary departure. She told ABC News that her family chose to leave to avoid detention.

Pineda said ICE agents informed the couple that they had until August 15 to depart the U.S. but required weekly check-ins and ordered them to wear ankle monitors. 

"We went back that Monday," Pineda said. "And the [ICE] agent said, 'Everything is ready, and you are all leaving today.'"

"I started to cry," she said. "My son was listening to everything. My husband, who never cries, started to tear up."

Pineda said the family was detained and transported to Texas, where they were held until Wednesday before their deportation. 

Upon arriving in Venezuela, Pineda said, she and the other deportees were taken to a hotel near La Guaira. She said she was separated from her husband because men and women were housed in different rooms.

That afternoon, the building collapsed during the deadly earthquakes.

"I grabbed my son to protect him," she said. "I hugged him and protected him with my body. I never lost sight of him."

Pineda said she searched for an exit in the rubble.

"When the light came in, I saw a hole," she said. "I couldn't get out, but my son could. He began to scream for help, and I screamed, too."

"They pulled him out, but he was severely injured and did not survive," she said.

Pineda buried her husband on Wednesday, one week after their deportation and the earthquake.

Pineda and her son were rescued. She told ABC News that the following day, she learned that her husband died from injuries at a hospital.

She told ABC News she does not understand why her family was deported. 

"We did not even have a speeding ticket," Pineda said. "We paid taxes, we had no fines, and my husband even had a credit score of 800."

"We always tried to do the right thing," she added.

In a statement to ABC News, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the June 24 flight "safely reached Venezuela, and all individuals on board were returned."

"When an individual is no longer in ICE custody, ICE is no longer responsible for them," the spokesperson added.

"They don't care if you have a life or a family," Pineda said. "They only care about deporting."

Pineda said the hardest thing to accept is the loss of her husband, whom she had known since she was 13.

"It is difficult because I lost my friend and my husband," she said. "My son is left without his dad. Why did this happen? You try to do things the right way so that bad things don't happen."