It was a little after 6:00 p.m. in the evening on June 24th when the ground began to violently shake.
38 seconds later, a second, even more powerful earthquake struck,
collapsing buildings, killing thousands, and leaving many more homeless.
They were two of the most devastating quakes to have hit Venezuela in perhaps a century,
and they came at a particularly challenging and uncertain political moment for the country,
after the U.S. removed the country's former president, Nicolás Maduro.
In fact, this week, Maduro appeared in a New York courtroom dressed in a beige prison uniform,
facing charges of narcoterrorism, which he denies.
When the U.S. first captured Maduro at the time,
President Trump said his administration was essentially in charge.
"We're going to run it essentially until such time as a proper transition can take place."
These days though, it's not really clear what the U.S.'s role is,
particularly as Venezuelans continue to sift through the rubble from the earthquakes.
From the BBC, I'm Asma Khalid in Washington D.C., and today on The Global Story,
the BBC's Will Grant joins us from inside Venezuela.
Will, welcome back to The Global Story, always a pleasure to have you on.
It's always pleasure to be with you.
You're joining us today from Caracas in Venezuela.
You were also in Venezuela immediately after the earthquake in late June.
And I want to begin by just asking you, what were your questions in returning to the country at this moment now?