Former Major League Baseball star Jenrry Mejia credited “divine intervention” with saving his life during two powerful earthquakes that rocked Venezuela this week.
The former New York Mets pitcher was at the Hotel Eduards when the quakes struck near Caracas.
As of Friday afternoon, roughly 900 people had been reported dead and damage was widespread:
Venezuela looks like it was BOMBED after two MASSIVE 7.1 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes.
Pray for the people, this is really bad pic.twitter.com/pIw8ywXzYe
— Ryan Rozbiani (@RyanRozbiani) June 25, 2026
According to the New York Post, which cited multiple Spanish-language outlets, Mejia had just finished working out when he stepped into an elevator to go up to the sixth floor of the high-rise building.
Instead of going up, the elevator malfunctioned and went down to the ground floor and near the main exit.
Mejia described the moment as an act of God that got him out of the building just in time.
“I was in the gym area. And at that moment, I took the elevator to leave,” Mejia said.
Ex-Mets pitcher Jenrry Mejia narrowly escapes death as Venezuela earthquake strikes hotel – thanks to elevator’s ‘divine intervention’ https://t.co/srtLydvlE0 pic.twitter.com/XHfgzA0bu8
— New York Post (@nypost) June 26, 2026
“In fact, I had pressed number 6, which was where my floor was. But… I think it was God because instead of going up, it went down to the basement,” he added.
The door opened directly into the lobby.
Mejia said the building started to collapse almost immediately after he walked out.
He called the timing a case of “divine intervention” that spared him 40 seconds before the hotel crumbled.
Mejia also said that the elevator malfunction put him in a position to help an elderly man escape to safety.
“I think only he and I [came out alive], the others are still there, trapped under the rubble,” Mejia told a local radio station.
According to CNN, thousands are injured, and emergency workers are racing the clock to find missing survivors who are trapped in collapsed buildings.
The U.S. military put boots on the ground on Thursday to assist in the humanitarian crisis.
RELEASE: SOUTHCOM Leadership Arrives in Venezuela to Coordinate Earthquake Relief Support
U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Jarrard arrived in Caracas, Venezuela, today, to oversee Department of War support to Venezuela earthquake relief efforts.
Maj. Gen. Jarrard is serving… pic.twitter.com/sCIhyuI63L
— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) June 26, 2026
Mejia, who is Dominican and now plays in the Venezuelan league, played five seasons in the majors, all of them with the New York Mets.
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