Venezuela earthquake death toll reaches 3,685 as public fury erupts over government response
The official death toll from the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 has risen to 3,685, with nearly 17,000 injured, as public anger over the government's disaster response boils over.
Death toll and damage
The double earthquake of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 that hit northern Venezuela on 24 June has killed at least 3,685 people and injured 16,740, according to the government's latest bulletin on 7 July. The coastal state of La Guaira remains the hardest hit, with 190 buildings completely collapsed and another 856 damaged. More than 17,900 people have lost their homes, and 87 transitory camps have been set up. The disaster is the deadliest earthquake in Venezuela in a century, far surpassing the 1967 Caracas quake that killed 245.
Rescue efforts and missing persons
Rescue teams have pulled 6,462 people alive from the rubble, a figure unchanged since 2 July. Some 29,567 military and security personnel, 28,362 volunteers and 4,388 international rescuers are deployed. The government has distributed 9,603 tonnes of food and over 8.3 million litres of water. However, the citizen initiative 'Desaparecidos Terremoto Venezuela' has registered more than 30,000 reports of people whose whereabouts could not be confirmed, while the authorities have not updated the official missing count since 25 June, when it stood at 157. In La Guaira, 2,400 remains have been recovered, and 231 bodies remain unclaimed; a makeshift cemetery called La Esperanza has dug graves for more than 150 unidentified victims.
Until we recover the bodies, we are not moving from here. If the machinery response had been better, this would have been different.
- Twin earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 strike northern Venezuela, devastating La Guaira state.
- Government reports 157 people missing; citizen initiative later records over 30,000 missing persons reports.
- Rescue count reaches 6,462, a figure that remains unchanged in subsequent days.
- Interim President Delcy Rodríguez says she is in contact with countries to help recover the airport.
- Death toll updated to 3,685; Rodríguez announces plan to resume commercial flights on a parallel runway.
Airport reopening plan
Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía, which serves Caracas and lies in the disaster zone, has been partially open only for humanitarian flights due to considerable infrastructure damage. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez announced on 7 July the "immediate activation of an alternative plan that will allow commercial flights to resume shortly on the parallel runway." US military aircraft have been using the airport to deliver aid, and US Chargé d'Affaires John Barrett said officials are already in talks with American commercial airlines about resuming service.
Public anger and political fallout
Across La Guaira, grieving citizens have shouted down police and National Guard members, accusing them of standing by while civilians and international aid workers dig for survivors. In interviews, Venezuelans are openly criticising the ruling party and Rodríguez, something unthinkable a year ago. "Why would I be afraid, if I was born to die?" said José Silva, a 47-year-old who spent ten days pulling bodies from the rubble. He accused the government of sending only "second rate" tools. The anger also targets the Trump administration, which facilitated Rodríguez's rise after US forces captured Nicolás Maduro in January and has stood by her management of the disaster.
Why would I be afraid, if I was born to die?
International aid and sanctions debate
France, Portugal and China continue to send humanitarian aid. Rodríguez has asked "seismic countries" Japan, Peru and Chile to dispatch specialists. Meanwhile, 113 economists including Jeffrey Sachs and Isabella Weber signed a letter urging the US Treasury to lift broad economic sanctions on Venezuela to unblock funds for reconstruction. "It is a barbaric act that the United States and Europe are withholding billions of dollars in funds that belong to Venezuela and that the country desperately needs," said Mark Weisbrot of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
It is a barbaric act that the United States and Europe are withholding billions of dollars in funds that belong to Venezuela and that the country desperately needs.
