Venezuela’s U.S.-backed acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday (July 3, 2026) issued a fiery defence of her government’s response to last week’s devastating earthquakes.

She lashed out at critics who say authorities reacted too slowly, pushing back on suggestions that the true death toll is far higher than the government has acknowledged and rejecting accusations that the nation’s shoddily constructed social housing exacerbated the disaster.

The self-described socialist government of Ms.Rodríguez, striving for legitimacy months after the United States removed former president Nicolás Maduro from power in January, has come under fire for what residents have described as a sluggish and haphazard response to the quakes.

Residents of the hardest-hit state, La Guaira, have complained that the initial absence of a serious government search-and-rescue operation left them alone to scour for neighbours and loved ones with their bare hands.

Rescuers have lamented the country’s shortages of specialised equipment. Experts have warned that substandard construction of social housing projects — a hallmark policy of former President Hugo Chávez — left neighbourhoods vulnerable to earthquakes.

At a press conference for foreign journalists in the capital of Caracas late Thursday (July 3, 2026), Ms.Rodríguez, wearing a black ribbon as a symbol of mourning, refused to accept the criticism.

“We did not wait one day, two days or three days. We activated immediately,” she said, lacing into media outlets that she accused of spreading misinformation. “To politicise a humanitarian tragedy like this — when the Venezuelan government and its authorities have spared no effort, public, private, national, or international — is disgraceful.” Authorities have counted at least 2,295 people killed by the earthquake as of Wednesday (July 2, 2026) — a number that’s expected to rise. They did not offer an updated death toll on Thursday (July 3, 2026), and have maintained tight control over public communications and relief efforts.

A rare bright spot in the misery

The stench of decomposition hung heavy over streets of flattened buildings as rescue missions to find survivors of Venezuela’s devastating earthquakes increasingly turned to the recovery of corpses.

Desperate for good news, Venezuelan and international emergency workers celebrated the near-miraculous rescue of a 43-year-old security guard found alive after nearly eight days under the rubble — five days beyond the critical 72-hour mark following a quake when experts say finding survivors is most likely.

National broadcasters reran footage of the exuberant moment he was pried free from the collapsed mall and lifted onto a stretcher as crowds cheered. Trapped in an air pocket beneath the concrete, Hernán Alberto Gil Flores survived on the food and water that rescuers managed to pass him through crevices.

Elsewhere across La Guaira, an air of hopelessness was setting in. The port city of Catia La Mar teemed with officials carrying body bags and stacking wooden coffins.

More than 38,000 reports of missing people — many of them likely buried beneath the rubble — have been sent to a website set up by the Venezuelan opposition, as the government has not given official figures for those missing.

When one journalist asked Ms.Rodríguez about the true, still-unknown toll of the disaster, citing reports that the United Nations is procuring 10,000 body bags, Ms.Rodríguez defended the government’s tally.

“We do not want to speculate,” she said. “The numbers we provide are rigorously verified.”

In La Guaira, several of Chávez’s signature social housing projects were razed by the earthquakes, prompting suspicions of flawed construction. Ms.Rodriguez deflected the accusations, claiming on Thursday (July 2, 2026) that about 80% of the collapsed buildings were privately developed. She did not offer evidence.

Rodríguez’s denies a slow government response

Pressed on reports that residents were on their own in the first 48 hours after the quakes, with heavy machinery and official aid scarce, Ms.Rodríguez acknowledged that “naturally, at the sites where the building collapsed, the first people to arrive were survivors of the collapse itself, relatives and neighbours.” But she railed against what she called “narratives manufactured in propaganda laboratories” and claimed that a day after the quakes, “We had already mobilized the full capacity of the Venezuelan state together with the private sector.” The disaster has evolved into the biggest test of competence yet for Ms.Rodríguez, who served as deputy to former president Maduro until his ouster and became interim leader with the backing of the Trump administration.

Her comments Thursday (July 2, 2026) came a day before the extension of her 180-day mandate as acting leader was set to expire. It was unclear what would happen once the deadline passes Friday (July 3, 2026).

Under Venezuela’s constitution, temporary absences are to be filled by the vice president — which was Ms. Rodríguez’s former role — for up to 90 days. These interim appointments can be extended by the national assembly for an additional 90 days. The National Assembly, controlled by Ms. Rodríguez’s party, can trigger a snap election if lawmakers declare the post permanently vacant.

US support of a government under fire

In contrast to the aftermath of Venezuela’s catastrophic 1999 landslides, when then-President Chávez rejected offers of assistance from an adversarial U.S. , Ms.Rodríguez has publicly welcomed aid and rescue teams from governments across the political spectrum — including the Trump administration and its regional allies.

In expressing thanks for the foreign help, Ms.Rodríguez singled out Israel, which has no diplomatic relations with Venezuela. She praised President Donald Trump and Secretary State of Marco Rubio, saying they “remained constantly attentive and offered support.” Washington has thrown its support behind Ms.Rodríguez in its bid to open up Venezuela’s lucrative energy industry and largely turned its back on opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, who this week accused Ms.Rodríguez’s government of blocking her return to the country.

The U.S. has committed over US$300 million and deployed some 900 military personnel to support rescue operations. On top of that, John M. Barrett, the U.S. chargé d’affaires to Venezuela, said the U.S. would make revenue from Venezuelan oil production, controlled by the U.S. Treasury since Maduro’s seizure, available for relief efforts. That promise has made demands for more transparency in U.S. management of Venezuelan oil sales all the more urgent, analysts say.

“Venezuelans really need that money to be used for the protection of Venezuelans,” said Laura Cristina Dib, Venezuela program director at the independent human rights organization Washington Office on Latin America.

Published – July 03, 2026 02:37 pm IST

The Quintero family crowded around their new home this week after two deadly earthquakes forced them to flee their apartment building in Caracas.

Francisco Quintero reserved the seats of his small, beat-up car for his children, while the trunk is now home to Paquito, their green-and-red parakeet, and a handful of pet turtles.

Editorial | ​Tragic evening: On the earthquake in Venezuela

Mr. Quintero, a musician, said he and other adults in the family search nightly for a place to sleep near the car “until we get an answer about what they might do with us.”

The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude quakes that throttled Venezuela on Wednesday (June 24, 2026) evening just 39 seconds apart toppled buildings in Caracas and beyond, with hundreds of homes damaged. The number of confirmed dead — already in the hundreds — is expected to rise as frantic search-and-rescue missions continue.

Thousands of Venezuelans left suddenly homeless have since poured into parks, plazas and even the shoulders of blocked highways, looking for a place to lay their heads. The latest crisis in this nation of roughly 30 million comes after decades of economic struggle. More than half of the population lives in extreme poverty and nearly 8 million were already in need of humanitarian aid before the quakes struck.

In Guaira — the hardest hit state just north of Caracas — families placed sheets on a dusty baseball field to claim their space, their belongings stuffed into plastic bags. Others sought shelter under palm trees. Among them was 35-year-old Alexandra Martínez and her two children.

“The apartment is completely wrecked,” she said as she wiped away tears. “The walls, the kitchen, everything, are destroyed. It split right down the middle.”

Similar scenes played out across Caracas.

“We have nowhere to live,” Desiré Gil said. “This is the only option we have for the moment.”

The 37-year-old mother of four children, including one who is six months pregnant, now lives atop a small, grassy plaza with her family.

Nearby, people used backpacks as pillows and opened colorful beach umbrellas for shade as helicopters buzzed overhead.

Ms. Gil’s residence did not fall, but parts are crumbling and she refuses to go back: “Our fear is that the building might collapse on top of us.”

Like many others, she’s waiting for Venezuela’s civil protection agency to inspect cracked and crumbling buildings and determine if they’re still safe to live in.

But it’s unclear when those inspections might start. The government is still focused on saving lives, with thousands believed missing across Venezuela’s northern region, where the quakes killed at least 920 people and injured more than 3,300 others.

Ms. Gil, who sells mangos and other goods for a living, said her pregnant daughter had contractions and went to the hospital on Thursday, only to be turned away. A portion of the maternity ward had collapsed, and the hospital was already overflowing with patients sent by other institutions.

The Ministry of Education said some school buildings would be used as shelters, but it wasn’t clear how many. For now, Gil said she and her family would live atop the grassy mound “until the government gives us an answer.”

Experts have said they are not surprised at the crumpled buildings.

José Rangel, a civil engineer and university professor, noted that more than 50% of Caracas was built before 1982, the year the government approved a new construction code for seismic zones.

“Everything that we’ve built before that year is seismically vulnerable,” he told state TV station Venezolana de Televisión.

Mr. Rangel said he and other engineers were working on seismic retrofitting plans and prioritizing the evaluation of schools, hospitals, bridges and other infrastructure before the earthquakes hit.

He called on the government to rebuild stronger and apply existing recommendations, warning it could take weeks to evaluate buildings and determine if they’re safe.

“It’s a process that lies ahead,” Mr. Rangel said. “Right now, the most important issue is rescuing people.”

He called on engineers, architects and others to join upcoming inspection efforts.

“The causes of the collapse must be determined,” he said. “It’s how we learn lessons after an earthquake.”

Magaly Noguera and her family are among the Venezuelans awaiting an inspection. They live in a high-rise that was damaged, with Noguera recalling how she and her son, along with his wife and 3-year-old child, hugged each other under the kitchen door frame until they could run downstairs to a safer place.

“That day, the descent seemed endless to me,” she said. “I don’t want to be in my house.”

They now sleep outside near a government building, surrounded by others in the same situation.

Across the street, a man lugged a mattress on his left shoulder while his partner carried several pillows under her right arm. Nestled between them was a small child as they walked to parts unknown.

Published – June 27, 2026 04:00 am IST

People look at a destroyed building after earthquakes hit the country, in La Guaira, Venezuela, June 25, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
Reuters

Venezuelans searched for survivors beneath collapsed buildings on Thursday (June 25, 2026) and rescue teams raced to northern areas rocked by a pair of powerful earthquakes that officials say killed around 235 people and left at least 4,300 people injured. 

Also read: Venezuela earthquake: On the streets and in hospitals, Venezuelans scramble to save lives

Thousands were reported missing and buildings were evacuated as far away as Brazil’s Amazon. Rescue efforts moved slowly, with bodies still visible under debris hours after the quakes, while time ran out for some of those who were trapped and injured.

Offers of rescue support, aid and condolences poured into Venezuela. 

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