
9 days · 6 summary articles
The death toll from Venezuela’s twin earthquakes has risen to 2,595, interim President Delcy Rodríguez announced on Thursday, as rescue teams pulled a man alive from rubble eight days after the disaster. The 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude quakes struck northern Venezuela on 24 June, collapsing 189 buildings and leaving tens of thousands missing. Rodríguez, addressing reporters in Caracas, confirmed 12,400 injuries and said search operations continue despite the dwindling chances of finding survivors.
A 44-year-old security guard, Hernán Gil, was extracted from the ruins of a nine-storey building in La Guaira state on Thursday, his survival described as a “miracle” by rescuers. His rescue came after eight days trapped beneath debris, a rare breakthrough that offered fleeting hope amid the devastation. The United Nations estimates up to 50,000 people remain missing, while local reports suggest the true toll could be far higher.
International aid has flooded in, with 33 countries deploying rescue teams, including Turkey’s 75-person contingent with rescue dogs and heavy machinery. The International Monetary Fund and World Bank have pledged $200 million to support reconstruction, but criticism of the government’s response is mounting. In La Guaira, survivors told reporters they had seen little state presence, with aid distribution chaotic and slow. “If we don’t act, no one will help us,” one resident told *La Libre Belgique* .
The quakes have left 38,500 people unaccounted for, according to unofficial lists, while disease and food shortages threaten to compound the crisis. The UN warned on 1 July that 1.8 million people urgently needed assistance, with acute malnutrition and waterborne illnesses spreading in displacement camps. Rodríguez defended her government’s crisis management, rejecting accusations of abandonment, but the public anger is palpable. In Madrid, 27 Spanish victims were confirmed dead, the foreign ministry reported .
With rescue efforts now pivoting to relief, the focus has shifted to identifying thousands of bodies before decomposition complicates the process. Pathologists in Caracas told CNN they were receiving hundreds of decaying corpses daily, straining morgues and burial teams. The government has ruled out mass graves, but the scale of the disaster has overwhelmed local capacity. As the death toll climbs and frustration grows, Venezuela’s interim leadership faces its sternest test yet.
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