Trejo, who plays for Club Sport Marítimo La Guaira, lost his wife Yanina and their two children, Aaron and Ainhoa, after the quakes—measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude—hit on Wednesday evening.
According to reports cited by US media, Trejo spent three agonising days searching through the rubble of his home in La Guaira before rescue teams eventually recovered the bodies of his family members.
The club confirmed the tragedy in a heartfelt statement shared on social media.
“Club Sport Marítimo La Guaira deeply mourns the irreparable loss of our player’s wife and children,” the team wrote on Instagram, alongside a photo of Trejo with his family.
In a follow-up message of support, the club added: “Lucas, you are not alone. Your family at Maritime La Guaira is with you.”
“A horrific scene” after the quake
Trejo was reportedly away at a training camp in Caracas when the earthquakes struck. When he rushed back to La Guaira, relatives described the aftermath as almost unrecognisable.
“He found absolutely nothing of what the building itself had been,” said Ricardo Ardiles, Trejo’s brother-in-law, in comments reported by CNN.
The disaster has left widespread devastation across Venezuela, with authorities estimating nearly 1,500 deaths and tens of thousands still unaccounted for as rescue operations continue.
The United States Geological Survey described the event as a rare seismic “doublet,” with two major earthquakes striking just 39 seconds apart—an occurrence that intensified the destruction.
Football community among the victims
The tragedy has also deeply affected Venezuela’s football community, with several players reported among the dead.
Young talents such as Yimvert Berroteran, Víctor Palacios, and Razan Sijaa were confirmed killed, according to the Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF) and their respective clubs.
Berroteran, just 18, had recently featured for Venezuela’s U-20 national team and previously played at the U-17 World Cup in Doha, highlighting the scale of loss for the country’s sporting future.
In another heartbreaking account, fellow player Héctor Bello revealed that his partner died while shielding their toddler during the collapse.
“I’ll make sure to remind our baby girl how wonderful you were and how much you loved her,” Bello wrote in a social media tribute.
National and international toll rises
Beyond the sporting world, the disaster has also claimed the lives of tourists and foreign residents, including eight Chinese nationals, according to reports from Chinese state media.
As rescue efforts continue in severely affected regions, Venezuela remains in mourning, with communities, clubs, and families grappling with the scale of destruction left behind by one of the most catastrophic earthquakes in the country’s recent history.