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A young girl was pulled from the rubble yesterday in La Guaira. Alamy Stock Photo
Rescue Efforts
Venezuela quake death toll nears 1,500 as critical rescue window closing for survivors
Speaking a day after the earthquakes, Donald Trump claimed that people in Venezuela were “dancing in the streets.”
EMERGENCY TEAMS WITH rescue dogs continued to search on Sunday for any remaining survivors of powerful twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela, where the death toll has surpassed 1,450 and nearly 200 buildings have completely collapsed.
A man and his teen son were found alive under the rubble Sunday by French and American rescue teams in Caraballeda, a town about 40 kilometres north of Caracas, AFP journalists saw.
United States search and rescue team members pulled a father and his young son from the rubble on Sunday in Venezuela's state of La Guaira, days after two powerful earthquakes hit the country. pic.twitter.com/YdxDqR9u8n
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 28, 2026
The rescue offered a glimmer of hope in an ongoing tragedy that has shaken a country already mired in an economic crisis, but tens of thousands of people were still reported missing and the critical 72-hour window for rescuing trapped victims following a natural disaster has now passed.
Millions more people were feared to lack sanitation and other basic needs after one of Latin America’s most devastating earthquake disasters.
Rescue teams from the United States, Mexico and elsewhere scrambled to save people as desperate residents dug by hand for relatives trapped in the pancaked layers and rubble of collapsed apartments.
Some 774 buildings were badly damaged in back-to-back quakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 that struck on Wednesday evening, including 189 buildings that have totally collapsed, National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said Sunday.
In one of the worst-hit areas, the coastal city of La Guaira, Hector Aguilera came to search for four family members buried in the rubble.
“We don’t have the support to get our family out – we can’t do it alone. They are buried there: we know they are dead, but here we are,” he said.
“We have no hope left; all I have are memories.”
Experts say the first 72 hours after natural disasters define the narrow window for rescuing the living. After that the search usually becomes one of recovering bodies.
On Sunday, Rodriguez reported 1,450 dead – a toll expected to rise – with 3,150 people injured.
Even as rescue efforts continued apace, outbreaks of looting hit La Guaira, much of which now lies in rubble after Wednesday’s disaster.
Pharmacies, supermarkets and other businesses were ransacked, said residents, some of whom complained of the slow and meagre post-quake aid coming from authorities.
‘Dancing in the streets’
The US is mounting a major disaster response following the earthquakes, in what is being seen as an early test of its relationship with Venezuela after the US special forces raid that deposed former leader Nicolás Maduro earlier this year.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the operation as a “big, fast, effective” response, with more than 250 personnel deployed and $150 million (€131 million) in emergency assistance pledged.
The mission comes after the Trump administration dismantled much of the US foreign aid system and transferred disaster response responsibilities to the State Department.
Speaking on Friday, US President Donald Trump said: “They had a tremendous earthquake, a lot of people killed right in Caracas and we have a lot of people over there helping.”
Trump added that relations with Venezuela had improved since Maduro’s removal.
“We’ve taken out millions of barrels of oil and we’ve paid for the war many times over,” Trump said.
“Outside of what happened last night … it was a big earthquake, knocked down buildings, but outside [of the earthquake] it’s a happy country again, people are dancing in the streets.”
‘Hold onto hope’
Interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez on Sunday praised rescuers for still pulling survivors from the ruins.
“Today we have rescued people who are still alive, and therefore these efforts will not be suspended,” she said.
“We always hold onto hope.”
Facing public outrage at the response by local officials, Rodriguez thanked other countries for the outpouring of aid.
Twenty-four nations have sent 521 tons of supplies, 86 units with dogs trained to locate people trapped beneath the rubble and more than 2,700 search-and-rescue personnel, she said.
Economic impact
The UN migration agency said that based on population and damage data, up to 6.76 million people could be affected, and would require shelter, water, sanitation, healthcare and essential relief items.
Venezuela’s worst earthquakes in more than a century have come after the oil-rich country endured more than a decade of economic collapse.
The crisis has hollowed out hospitals and public services, driving millions to leave the country.
The United Nations estimated $6.7 billion (€5.88 billion) in physical damage – equivalent to 6% of Venezuela’s GDP.
On Sunday, Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado, currently in exile, announced she will return “very soon” to her homeland.
“The time has come,” she told US broadcaster Fox News.
“We need to be together, to embrace, to grieve and mourn together, but also to give each other strength at this difficult time.”
Additional reporting from Andrew Walsh
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