Rescuers work at the site of a collapsed building, in the aftermath of the June 24 earthquakes Venezuela. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

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

Venezuelan merchant Grian Serrano has survived two of the country’s worst natural disasters: the devastating 1999 mudslides that ravaged the coastal state of La Guaira and, 26 years later, two powerful earthquakes that struck the same region.

Bruised around his left eye and across much of his body, 46-year-old Mr. Serrano is recovering from the ordeal he endured with his son and mother.

The three were buried beneath rubble and twisted steel when their eight-story apartment building collapsed in the city of Caraballeda in La Guaira, the state hardest hit by the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes.

“It is a miracle from God,” Mr. Serrano said as he recalled how, in total darkness, he clawed through debris with his bare hands before rescuing his eight-year-old son and 69-year-old mother with the help of two passersby.

The two earthquakes have killed more than 1,700 people and injured more than 5,000, according to the government. Hundreds of buildings collapsed or were damaged, primarily in La Guaira. Significant damage was also reported in the capital, Caracas, and in the states of Carabobo, Miranda, Aragua and Yaracuy.

La Guaira — known as Vargas until 2019 — is Venezuela’s second-smallest state but one of its most strategically important. About 30 km north of Caracas, it is home to the country’s main international airport and second-largest seaport.

Its roughly 4,40,000 residents are largely low-income and depend on tourism, commerce and jobs tied to the airport and seaport.

Speaking from his brother’s home in Caracas, Mr. Serrano recalled the terror he felt last week, his thoughts inevitably returning to December 15, 1999, when he was jolted awake by the screams of their household employee, who had seen a nearby river overflow after days of heavy rain.

From his window, he watched the swollen river sweep away trees, massive boulders and vehicles with people trapped inside, banging on the windows and pleading for help.

Driven by instinct, Mr. Serrano fled his fourth-floor apartment with his mother, sister and nanny, climbing to the roof. From there, they watched floodwaters engulf the building’s lower floors as massive trees slammed into its columns, fearing it would collapse like others nearby.

Their fears eased at dawn as the rain stopped and the floodwaters began to recede. After waiting in vain for rescue, the family made their way through mud, rocks, debris and fallen trees to his grandparents’ home in a nearby neighbourhood.

The 1999 floods and landslides known as the “Vargas Tragedy” killed 782 people, another 2,000 were reported missing and about 2,50,000 residents were affected, according to Ángel Rangel, who led rescue operations as director of Venezuela’s Civil Protection agency.

Still shaken by the devastation left by the earthquakes, Mr. Serrano believes La Guaira — bordered by the Caribbean Sea and the Ávila mountain range — is under a curse.

“It isn’t normal for such horrible things to happen in the same place,” he said.

Mr. Rangel, a disaster specialist, sees it differently. The engineer said the buildings that collapsed in La Guaira were built on terrain formed over centuries by sediment carried down from the surrounding mountains.

“That type of terrain is particularly risky for construction,” Mr. Rangel said, adding that building in such areas requires “strict adherence to seismic-resistant engineering standards” adopted after the powerful 1967 earthquake that struck Caracas.

Many of the buildings that collapsed in La Guaira were built in the 1970s, and it remains unclear whether they met those standards.

After losing his home and all his belongings, Mr. Serrano said he does not know what comes next. But one thing is certain: He will never live in La Guaira again.

“That’s twice now,” he said. “Sometimes I think if there’s a third time, it’s going to win the battle.”

Published – July 01, 2026 04:46 pm IST

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

Rescuers search a building for earthquake survivors in La Guaira, Venezuela, on June 28, 2026.
| Photo Credit: AP

The Indian Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft arrives at Maiquetía International Airport, Caracas, carrying 66 tonnes of humanitarian aid- including an Indian Army Field Hospital, over 35 tonnes of relief supplies, medicines and medical equipment, and two BHISHM Cubes, for Venezuela as part of post-earthquake relief efforts on June 28, 2026. Photo: X/@IAF_MCC via PTI

Under the ‘Operation Amistad’, launched by India to offer humanitarian assistance to quake-hit Venezuela. Credit: X/@DrSJaishankar