Desperate families demand the recovery of bodies nine days after the earthquakes that shook Venezuela and left 2,645 dead, more than 12,000 injured, and up to 50,000 missing, according to figures from the United Nations (UN), while authorities avoid specifying that last figure.
Earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 struck the country last week. The coastal town of La Guaira accounts for the majority of the fatalities, where dozens of residential complexes were reduced to rubble. The state government, led by José Alejandro Terán, informed AFP that more than 170 buildings were completely destroyed and more than 700 were damaged. In front of the Tahiti building, in the Caraballeda sector of La Guaira, a rescuer reported hearing screams from an adult in the early hours of Friday. Versions also circulated about the discovery of a nine-year-old boy alive, but foreign rescuers told AFP that they found no trace of survivors.
The critical window for rescues in these types of disasters usually closes after 72 hours. Although some people were found alive during the week, rescue teams were beginning to scale back search operations. Many survivors who lost their homes were sleeping on the street or in makeshift shelters in parks and public spaces.
Tension escalated in front of the Tahiti building, where family members trying to recover bodies clashed with those who wanted to clear the way for a possible rescue operation. José Francisco Liendo, who was searching for the remains of his father and sister, rejected the use of heavy machinery: “Until I recover the bodies, I will not be at peace. Do not let the machines take them away like trash,” he said.
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People search for survivors in the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in La Guaira, Venezuela, on June 26, 2026.
Dalimer Díaz, 43, reported the same situation: “They tell us no, that they are looking for the living, but what about the dead? Are they not human beings too?” Later, soldiers arrived at the scene and a Spanish brigade showed up with a crane to begin removing debris. Authorities were providing between 40 and 50 tons of humanitarian aid daily to those remaining in temporary camps, according to what Terán stated to AFP.
Aloa González was waiting for the body of her sister buried under concrete blocks, minutes after having returned from burying her father and mother. “How do I feel? Dead inside,” she said. “I can’t believe it. I don’t want to stop because I don’t want to face the reality of what is happening.”
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Interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who assumed office following the capture of Nicolás Maduro in a U.S. military operation six months ago, suggested that there is still a possibility of finding survivors. In her first formal press conference as president, held on Thursday, she defended the government’s management and described the criticism as media manipulation: “Whoever wants to audit reality is welcome,” she stated.
People search for survivors among the rubble of a collapsed building after an earthquake in La Guaira, Venezuela, on June 26, 2026.
His administration has the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump, whose country is helping to coordinate international rescue efforts. However, exiled opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado questioned the government’s actions to correspondents in Venezuela via Zoom: “The total absence of the State has become evident; the country needs figures it can trust,” she noted, arguing that her presence in the country would be stabilizing.
Many residents of La Guaira reported that neighbors, relatives, and volunteers were the first to remove debris by hand, due to the delay in the arrival of rescuers. AFP witnessed how a volunteer urged soldiers to put down their rifles and join the removal efforts.
Rodríguez ruled out that the deceased would end up in mass graves and ordered their formal identification. An improvised open-air morgue is operating at the port of La Guaira, where long lines form to receive the bodies of relatives and their death certificates.
