MEO will provide free communications between Portugal and Venezuela by July 5 to facilitate contact between family members and friends following the earthquakes that hit that country in Latin America, the operator announced today.
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26/06/2026
by
Lusa
A from today and until July 5, MEO customers in Portugal will benefit from free calls to Venezuela, and MEO customers in Venezuela will have access to roaming communications at no additional cost, including calls (to Portugal and Venezuela) and mobile data.
Recalling that crisis situations put additional pressure on telecommunications infrastructure, MEO “calls for responsible use of communications, encouraging customers to give priority to essential contacts and avoid unnecessary consumption, in order to safeguard the availability of networks for critical and emergency services”, according to a communication sent to the newsrooms.
MEO will support the operations of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) on the ground, providing communication equipment to rescue teams that will integrate the Portuguese mission in Venezuela.
Vodafone has also exempted from the costs for seven days the communications (calls and SMS) made from its network in Portugal and the number, fixed and mobile, in Venezuela.
In a statement released today, the company added that “the Vodafone customer communications in ‘roaming’ in Venezuela for any destination, including data, calls and SMS are not being charged.”.
On Thursday, NOS had already announced that until July 5 the international calls from the operator's customers to Venezuelan numbers would be free.
Similarly, “calls to Portugal from NOS customers in Venezuela will be free of roaming costs,” said the operator in a statement.
The two major earthquakes that were recorded in Venezuela on Wednesday caused at least 589 deaths and 2,980 injuries, according to the latest official report.
Among the dead, there are at least nine Portuguese and Portuguese descendants.
Portugal and seven other European Union countries will send search and rescue teams to Venezuela.
The earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 occurred 200 kilometers from Caracas, with less than one minute apart and were followed by more than 20 replicas, according to the United States Geological Service (USGS).
Dozens of buildings collapsed or were severely damaged in the capital Caracas and La Guaira, one of the most affected.