A Portuguese rescuer works at the site of a collapsed building in the aftermath of the June 24 earthquakes, in La Guaira, Venezuela, on July 4, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

The fallout from Venezuela’s powerful twin quakes has evolved into a major test for acting President Delcy Rodriguez, sending her scrambling to prevent the humanitarian disaster from becoming a political one as her mandate as interim leader expires Friday (July 3, 2026).

A day after Ms. Rodriguez angrily defended the competence of her government’s relief effort at her first news conference since the June 24 disaster, her main rival, exiled Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, issued her own appeal.

Speaking Friday (July 3, 2026) from Panama, Ms. Machado argued that the government’s quake response exposed its critical weaknesses and that her return to Venezuela “contributes to facilitating the transition process, especially after the tragedy”.

“My presence stabilises the situation; it is part of the organising forces that the country needs at a time when the total absence of the state has become evident,” Ms. Machado said, referring to widespread criticism of the government’s earthquake response as slow and disorganized. “The country needs figures it can trust.” The quakes have killed more than 2,295 people and injured over 11,000 others, according to the government, which has not offered updates on the dead and injured since Wednesday.

Ms. Machado’s opposition movement has set up a digital database to locate the missing that currently lists over 36,000 people unaccounted for. Her party has mobilised volunteers to collect donations in Venezuela and solicited aid from the country’s vast diaspora.

“My presence … seeks to bring people together, to unify, not only to address an emergency, but also to heal the wound,” said the opposition leader, who was barred from running in a 2024 presidential election in which President Nicolas Maduro claimed victory.

An independently verified vote count carried out by the opposition found that the candidate that Ms. Machado endorsed, Edmundo Gonzalez, was the real winner.

When the earthquakes hit, Ms. Machado saw a critical opportunity to return home for the first time since fleeing last December to accept a Nobel Peace Prize in Norway. Ever since the United States captured Mr. Maduro in a brazen military operation in January, Ms. Machado has been seeking a comeback and calling for a democratic transition.

But the Trump administration has thrown its support behind Rodriguez since Mr. Maduro’s ouster, praising her business-friendly reforms of the country’s lucrative oil sector and giving no timetable on when elections might be held.

Two senior U.S. officials familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity to disclose private diplomatic discussions, told The Associated Press that the Trump administration has grown frustrated with Ms. Machado and dissuaded her from returning to Venezuela in the aftermath of the earthquakes.

One official said that Ms. Machado had sought assistance from Washington for ferrying her to Venezuela from the Dutch Caribbean territory of Curacao and also from Panama, where she is now.

The second official said the U.S. suspected she wanted to return to lead protests against Ms. Rodríguez and push for political change at a time when the focus should be on quake recovery. This official added that the Trump administration could not prevent Ms. Machado’s return but was not in a position to facilitate it.

Upon learning of Ms. Machado’s imminent plans to return, Ms. Rodríguez shut down commercial air traffic into Caracas, the U.S. official said. Those cancelled flights had been due to bring in hundreds of relief workers to assist with earthquake recovery efforts, the official said.

On Monday, Ms. Machado claimed that the government had closed its airspace to prevent her return, without offering evidence. The government did not respond to a request for comment on the alleged closure.

Seemingly concerned that anger over the earthquake response could jeopardise her authority, Rodriguez on Thursday blamed any criticism on what she called “narratives manufactured in propaganda laboratories”.

She claimed that rescue crews deployed immediately with adequate equipment to disaster zones — contrary to widespread complaints by residents that they were left alone to search for their loved ones without official teams or heavy machinery for the first 48 hours.

“Those propaganda operations, driven by partisan political interests, are despicable,” she said. “We did not wait one day, two days or three days. We activated immediately.” She went on to say that thousands of civil and military rescue workers as well as 11 international field hospitals had been deployed to quake-affected areas, adding that the government had approved the creation of a fund to receive donations for reconstruction.

On Friday (July 3, 2026), state-run media broadcast her paying a visit in the hospital to Hernan Alberto Gil Flores, a 43-year-old security guard pried from a collapsed basement after surviving nearly eight days under the rubble. His dramatic rescue Thursday (July 2, 2026) served as rare bright spots in one of the bleakest periods in memory for Venezuela.

Under Venezuela’s constitution, temporary absences are to be filled by the Vice-president — which was Rodriguez’s former role — for up to 90 days, after which they can be extended by the national assembly for an additional 90 days.

On Friday (July 3, 2026), that 180-day interim period expired. There was no immediate comment from authorities on what, if anything, they would do in response to the expiration of Rodriguez’s mandate.

The National Assembly, controlled by Ms Rodriguez’s party, can trigger a snap election if lawmakers declare the post permanently vacant. 

Published – July 04, 2026 08:49 am IST

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

Aerial view of collapsed buildings in Caraballeda, La Guaira state, Venezuela, on June 30, 2026, following earthquakes.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

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

Venezuelans in the U.S. rushed to organize donation drives on Thursday (June 25, 2026) after devastating earthquakes that officials say killed at least 188 people and injured hundreds more in their home country. The United States government and other countries also pledged aid.

Oscar Torres and thousands of others spent the last 24 hours keeping up with a flurry of messages posted to a WhatsApp group that connects people in Venezuela with their families. He lives in Doral, Florida, a city outside Miami that’s home to the largest Venezuelan population in the U.S.

“Already this morning, I was looking at the group in Doral and everybody’s pitching in — money, medicine, water. First, necessity items,” said Torres, a sales manager who moved to the U.S. from Venezuela in 1995. “They’re talking about making the first shipment ASA

In Washington, the Trump administration said it’s sending $150 million to support relief efforts by aid groups and the United Nations, according to a U.S. State Department news release.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government was mobilizing a disaster response team to Venezuela that includes two urban search and rescue teams from fire departments in Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles. The U.S. military, which seized Venezuela’s then-president Nicolas Maduro in a surprise January drug arrest, will provide aircraft to help assess damage, assist searches and deliver aid.

Other countries including Mexico and Colombia also promised assistance.

The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes Wednesday night caused severe damage to the country’s main airport in the capital of Caracas, which could hamper efforts to get aid into the country quickly. The quakes were among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century.

In photos and videos of the aftermath, injured children, animals and civilians are seen covered in dust and blood being pulled out of concrete rubble.

In addition to those killed and injured, thousands more were reported missing — leaving many families members in the U.S. scrambling for updates. More than 7,70,000 Venezuelans live in the U.S., with large communities settling in Texas and Utah, in addition to Florida.

In the Houston area, home to a large Venezuelan community, residents used community Facebook groups and other social media to spread the word about local donation sites. First aid and medical supplies such as gauze, bandages, antiseptics, disposable gloves, face masks, syringes, thermometers and blood pressure monitors all were in demand.

Local resident Daniel Arenas translated a Spanish-language post into English and shared it Thursday (June 25, 2026) on his LinkedIn page hoping people across Houston would step up and donate.

“I came to this country 10 years ago, built a life here, but my heart is still in Venezuela,” Arenas said. “It’s devastating what’s happening over there. They don’t have the resources to handle this.”

Arenas, a maritime industry consultant, said that his wife is concerned about her aunt, who lives in a high-rise apartment in Caracas and sent a distraught message on WhatsApp after the quakes hit.

“She was crying and screaming and saying she was in pain but not sure from where,” Arenas said. “She said she lost everything. She was desperate.”

Arenas said his wife was later able to reach her aunt.

Many of the sites mobilizing donations are in Katy, a suburb about 30 miles (48 km) west of downtown Houston that’s earned the nickname “Katyzuela” because of its high concentration of Venezuelans.

Also read: Venezuela earthquake updates on June 25, 2026

Luis Angarita, who lives in Katy, said his younger sister and family were forced to sleep outside in a park after their home was damaged in the mountain community of Caribia, some 6 miles (10 kilometers) northwest of Caracas.

Angarita’s sister told him in a WhatsApp message that she’s trying to get everyone to their father’s home on the other side of the capital. But no taxis or buses are running and roads leading out of their mountain community are closed.

“Thank God they’re safe,” Angarita said in Spanish. “There are many displaced people and others are stuck in their homes, unable to leave. They need help.”

In Florida, workers for the Doral-based aid group Global Empowerment Mission on Thursday packed medical supplies, toiletries, cases of bottled water and nonperishable foods to be sent to Venezuela.

Despite damage to airports and roads, the aid group doesn’t foresee delays getting supplies into Venezuela, said Billy Richardson, the group’s U.S. logistics director.

“Sometimes it means using other airports, other means of transport, or even coming into other countries,” Richardson said by email.

Torres planned to contribute money for relief efforts. He still has uncles and cousins who live in Caracas and Valencia, another hard-hit Venezuelan city. He said some of them were injured as they fled buildings during the quakes.

“Their homes are destroyed and a few buildings have collapsed,” Torres said. “Thankfully, I don’t know anyone who passed away.”

Published – June 26, 2026 05:04 am IST

Venezuelans searched for survivors beneath collapsed buildings Thursday (June 25, 2026) and rescue teams raced to northern areas rocked by a pair of powerful earthquakes that officials say killed at least 188 people and left more than 200 trapped.

More were feared dead from the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck Wednesday (June 24, 2026) evening — among the strongest in Venezuela in more than a century and felt throughout the region. Some 1,500 people were injured, thousands were reported missing and buildings were evacuated as far away as Brazil’s Amazon.

In response to the devastation, the U.S. Treasury on Thursday (June 25, 2026) moved to waive some sanctions until Oct. 23 to allow transactions related to earthquake relief efforts in Venezuela that would otherwise be prohibited.

Meanwhile, in cities across northern Venezuela, panicked residents poured into the streets and searched for the missing in the debris. Injured children, animals and civilians covered in dust and blood were pulled out of concrete rubble.

One mother sobbed and collapsed in grief as the bodies of her 3- and 10-year-old children were wrapped in blankets and carried away. Others screamed the names of missing loved ones. Some stood in silent shock.

The coastal region of La Guaira — north of the capital, Caracas — suffered some of the heaviest damage and casualties, and it’s there that the country’s main airport was damaged and closed, complicating aid efforts.

Retired schoolteacher Juan Alberto Mendaño climbed through wreckage in La Guaira and past a dead body when he spotted a woman who was trapped and signaling with her hand for help.

“May God rescue her as quickly as possible,” said Mendaño. “When we heard the scream, there was nothing we could do.”

Offers to send aid and supplied poured in from around the world, including from the United States, which seized Venezuela’s then-president Nicolas Maduro at the beginning of the year in a surprise military operation.

The natural disaster is just the latest challenge for acting President Delcy Rodríguez, the former vice president who took office in January after Mr. Maduro’s capture. Venezuela has been facing economic disarray for more than a decade, and many people reject the legitimacy of the political movement Ms. Rodriguez represents.

Venezuelan authorities said they were diverting rescue teams from other parts of the country to La Guaira, which is no stranger to natural disasters; a 1999 mudslide there, considered one of the country’s worst natural disasters, killed thousands.

Ms. Rodríguez appealed to businesses Thursday (June 25, 2026) to make heavy construction equipment available for rescue operations, while a United Nations spokesperson said search and rescue teams were just hours away.

“We’re here for the families, and we extend our solidarity to them. We hope to rescue as many living people as possible,” said Ms. Rodríguez, who referred to La Guaira as a “disaster zone.”

Jorge Rodriguez, the president of Venezuela’s National Assembly and brother of the acting president, gave updated figures for the numbers of dead, trapped and injured.

While Venezuela sits near multiple fault lines, its position straddling the South American and Caribbean plates makes strong earthquakes much less common than in other parts of Latin America.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the first earthquake, with a magnitude of 7.2, hit west of Moron on the Caribbean coast, about 170 kilometers (105 miles) west of Caracas. It had a depth of 22 kilometers (about 14 miles). Just a minute later, USGS reported a second 7.5 magnitude earthquake, with a depth of 10 kilometers (about 6 miles) and an epicenter 16 kilometers (10 miles) southwest of Moron.

The one-two punch of the quakes, combined with the shallow seismic movements, amplified the destruction, said Marcos Ferreira, a geophysicist and researcher at the Geological Survey of Brazil.

“It is as if I am screaming and then someone starts screaming, too. That amplifies the vibration and adds to the potential hazard,” Ferreira said.

During the quakes, people ran from swaying buildings. Many were stunned Thursday (June 25, 2026) morning as they saw buildings reduced to skeletons, furniture hanging out of windows and helicopters circling overhead.

In La Guaira, Cristian Carreño stared at his charred apartment building tilting precariously to one side.

“I lost everything,” he said. “There are people still inside, I imagine, that couldn’t get out. It’s incredibly devastating.”

Dayana Delgado, mother of three children, said she was desperate because her 8-year-old son was missing. Delgado asked where the heavy machinery was that government officials had promised, pointing out that neighbors were the ones digging through the rubble.

“I want to know where my child is, if he’s trapped or in a shelter,” she said.

Authorities warned people against returning to homes with structural damage. In downtown Caracas, hundreds spent the night huddled in parks, parking lots and other open spaces.

“We were afraid the buildings would collapse on us,” said María Cristina Díaz, a 41-year-old janitor. “My mother, my daughter and I were cold. We didn’t sleep a wink.”

Parts of the capital lost power and cellphone service, Ms. Rodríguez said. Subway services were suspended and natural gas was shut off, she said. Classes will also be canceled for several days, and the Ministry of Education said some school buildings would be used as shelters and donation centers.

Families began posting missing-person flyers with photos of loved ones, while others shared handwritten lists of names as they searched for those still unaccounted for. Venezuelans living abroad struggled to make contact with relatives.

Shortly after U.N. officials in Venezuela called on the government to lift social media restrictions so people can get potentially life-saving information, Venezuelans in the country were able to access X. The site had been blocked by Mr. Maduro since August 2024, in an attempt to suppress the exchange of information among those who rejected his claim of victory in the July presidential election.

Ms. Rodríguez declared a state of emergency in an address to the nation late Wednesday. She said the government was creating a $200 million reconstruction fund for damaged hospitals and homes.

Leaders from Mexico, Qatar, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Canada and more expressed solidarity with and vowed to send aid to Venezuela. A number of shipments were already on the way Thursday (June 25, 2026). Aid included emergency and military personnel, canine and search teams, medical supplies, water purifiers, airplanes and drones.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who spoke to Ms. Rodríguez following the quake, said the United States was “immediately” deploying search and rescue teams, medical resources other assistance, though he acknowledged the closure of Venezuela’s main airport created logistical challenges.

“We have a whole-of-government response. It’ll be big; it’ll be fast; and it’ll be effective,” Mr. Rubio said.

Nearly 24 hours after devastating ​twin earthquakes in Venezuela, people in the coastal city of La Guaira were still using their hands to dig through ‌rubble, trying to rescue their neighbors.

“We are trying to help with what we can, ​but there is a lack of equipment,” said Carlos Borges, who said he was frustrated ⁠by the shortage of machinery like backhoes to move the piles of concrete slabs that were once high-rise apartment buildings.

His team pulled three people from one building, as other anxious family members, including the single mother of a missing teenage boy, waited ‌at the site on Thursday (June 25, 2026) morning. U.S. Geological Survey models suggested deaths could exceed 10,000 after two powerful earthquakes wreaked havoc in and around the capital Caracas on Wednesday. The government of acting ‌President Delcy Rodriguez has confirmed nearly 200 dead and 1,520 injured.

Residents of La Guaira, a popular spot ‌for ⁠beachgoers and the worst-hit city in the country, and Moron, near the quakes’ epicenter, were scrambling ⁠amid limited official help.

“Is it not possible to call in the military? Everyone come, come and pitch in. Put them in an armored vehicle and come help the people. Find tractors wherever you can,” said Argenis Martinez, a resident of La Guaira’s Los Corales neighborhood, who ​was looking for a relative among the ‌rubble.

Some rubble caught fire overnight, despite a cut to domestic gas service. Terrified residents, many with nowhere else to go, huddled in the streets or peered into destroyed buildings, looking for survivors.

The government, which said 250 buildings had been damaged or destroyed, mainly in La Guaira, has said aid is on the way ‌from Spain, the United States, Mexico and Qatar and called on the private sector to lend equipment ​like backhoes to help with rescue efforts.

At other places in La Guaira, neighbors pulled two dead people from a house, including a little girl, and saved a mother and two ⁠children, injured but alive, from a destroyed apartment building.

Reuters witnesses saw members of a colectivo — ruling party-allied motorcycle groups who have long been accused of abusing protesters at anti-government rallies — assisting rescue efforts at at least one location.

“My building is ‌uninhabitable and now I have nothing. It’s just me and my son, and I have no family in the country,” said Suhayl Sarquiz, 50, who lost her job a few months ago.

Looting at stores

In some areas of La Guaira, people were looking for food and water, and a Reuters team witnessed looting at at least two stores.

The city’s Jose Maria Vargas Hospital was overflowing with injured, and some patients were being tended to outside, where police were limiting access to the building. Officials there said they had no information for journalists.

“It’s a tragedy,” ‌said Beatriz Rodriguez, 60, whose nephew’s legs were amputated at the hospital after being crushed in the quakes. Another nephew, age 6, ​was killed.

The armed forces are deploying field hospitals to La Guaira, its command said in a press release, and will be able to perform emergency surgeries. A Reuters team in ⁠the city on Thursday saw a military convoy near the local stadium carrying out aid efforts.

Hospitals elsewhere were also struggling.

As ⁠he worked through a 24-hour emergency shift at the modest hospital in Moron, Dr. Augusto Ramirez found himself short of basic supplies.

“We need blood pressure monitors, gauze, thermometers, gloves, plaster, painkillers — everything,” Ramirez ‌told Reuters.

He, two fellow doctors and other staff had treated 112 people since the quakes collapsed houses and cut off electricity and water in the town. Nine have died from skull fractures and other injuries, including ​three children. 

Published – June 26, 2026 04:57 am IST