Venezuela Quake Rescue
Venezuela Deploys Military, Welcomes 1,600 Foreign Rescuers After Twin Quakes Kill 900+
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Venezuela is racing to find survivors after twin earthquakes killed at least 920 people and left more than 51,000 missing. The back-to-back quakes — a magnitude 7.2 followed 39 seconds later by a magnitude 7.5 — struck the coastal state of La Guaira on June 24, 2026, destroying or damaging more than 100 buildings and affecting up to 6.8 million people, according to UN News.
Interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who took power after a U.S. military operation removed Nicolás Maduro in January 2026, has welcomed 1,600 foreign rescuers arriving on 17 international flights. "We are going to rescue the people who are trapped... we are working tirelessly," Rodríguez said, according to The Hindu.
Twin Quakes Flatten La Guaira in Under a Minute
The disaster began at 6:04 PM local time on June 24 with a 7.2-magnitude foreshock near San Felipe, Yaracuy. Just 39 seconds later, a 7.5-magnitude mainshock struck. The "doublet" event is the strongest seismic event to hit Venezuela since the 1900 San Narciso earthquake, according to Reuters. La Guaira's buildings sit on alluvial fans — loose, sandy ground that shakes violently and collapses easily.
The destruction was swift and massive. More than 1.7 million buildings were affected. At least 13 hospitals and 25 shopping centers suffered serious damage, according to AP. Residents reported digging through rubble with bare hands for days before foreign rescuers arrived, as government teams were slow to reach the hardest-hit zones.
1,600 Foreign Rescuers Arrive as Military Locks Down La Guaira
Foreign Ministry official Oliver Blanco confirmed 1,600 rescue workers have entered the country via 17 flights, with 25 more flights expected within 24 hours, according to Reuters. Interim President Rodríguez said 10 more countries are still set to join. Some 14,000 military and police personnel are now patrolling La Guaira to maintain order and enforce health measures.
The government cut off all non-official access to La Guaira state starting at 8:00 PM on June 26, according to CBS News. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello is overseeing the militarized zone. Critics say the lockdown is slowing independent relief efforts and making it harder to account for the missing.
Opposition Counts 51,000 Missing — Far Above Official Figures
The gap between official and independent numbers is stark. The government reports 920 dead and 4,500 injured. But the Venezuelan opposition has set up a tracking site listing over 51,000 people as unaccounted for — a figure far higher than anything the state has acknowledged, according to The Guardian.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado, coordinating relief from exile in Norway, launched "Operation Everyone with Venezuela" to bypass state channels. She told Venezuelans: "In this very dark, very difficult hour... you are not alone." The government, meanwhile, is using VenApp — a tool originally built for citizen surveillance — to collect disaster reports, according to AP.
$6.7 Billion in Damage Threatens Venezuela's Fragile Recovery
The UNDP puts direct physical damage at $6.7 billion — roughly 6% of the GDP of affected states. Indirect losses could run three times higher. The earthquake hit a country already weakened by years of hyperinflation and a political transition that many Venezuelans hoped would bring economic recovery, according to Bloomberg.
The U.S. has pledged $150 million in aid and deployed a 250-person disaster response team, according to The Hindu. Secretary of State Marco Rubio promised a "big, fast, and effective" response. The U.S. Treasury also waived sanctions to allow relief supplies and money to flow into Venezuela freely.
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