Venezuela updates the tragedy with 1,943 dead and 10,571 injured after six days of rescues

Venezuela once again raises the death toll from the double earthquake that shook the north of the country last Wednesday. Authorities now place the number of fatalities at 1,943 and the injured at 10,571, a sharp increase compared to Monday's report, while rescue teams continue to work against the clock in La Guaira, Caracas, and other areas hit by the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes.

The new data was communicated by the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, on a day when the acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, highlighted that 6,461 people have been rescued since the beginning of the emergency. More than 3,300 rescuers sent from 27 countries are already working in the country, coordinated by the United Nations, in an international operation that seeks to find survivors almost six days after the catastrophe.

Hope remains in specific cases. A three-year-old boy was rescued this morning from the rubble of a building in Los Corales, in the state of La Guaira, after being trapped for almost six days. The operation was carried out by a mission of rescuers from Jordan. The attempt to rescue Hernán Gil, a security guard of a residential building who was trapped in a security booth and whose rescue is being carried out with manual tools due to the risk of collapse, also continues.

Spain raises the death toll to 19

The Spanish Government has also updated its balance today. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has confirmed 19 Spanish fatalities, 131 missing, and 12 located under the rubble. The number of missing has decreased compared to the first report of the day, but the teams remain focused on the points where it is believed that people may still be trapped alive.

Spain will reinforce its aid this Wednesday with the dispatch of the AECID's START team and an emergency field hospital. The deployment will join the Spanish rescuers already working on the ground and other international units. Spanish Red Cross is also preparing an emergency clinic with the capacity to attend to the affected population for several months.

The dimension of the disaster already overflows the initial search phase. UNHCR has warned that the humanitarian situation “has rapidly deteriorated” in the affected areas, with food shortages, collapse of basic services, and increased vulnerability of the displaced population. In parallel, the World Food Program has called for better coordination of aid to avoid a “logistical chaos” in the distribution of donations.

La Guaira concentrates the devastation

La Guaira remains the epicenter of the tragedy. Entire families remain next to collapsed buildings waiting for news of their missing loved ones, while international rescuers try to advance amidst unstable structures, lack of heavy machinery, and difficult-to-access areas. The UN has warned that the critical period for finding survivors is shrinking, although rescues that sustain the search have still occurred.

Material damages are also beginning to be assessed. A preliminary evaluation by the United Nations Development Program places losses at around 6.7 billion dollars, about 5.8 billion euros. Venezuelan authorities speak of 855 affected buildings, of which 189 have suffered total collapse, although independent satellite analyses raise the figure of damaged or destroyed constructions much higher.

The emergency now enters a more complex phase. In addition to the search for survivors, there is the need for shelter, healthcare, food, drinking water, and sanitation for thousands of people who have lost their homes. Delcy Rodríguez tries to project institutional coordination with the UN and the countries that have sent support, but on the ground, pressure grows from families who denounce delays, lack of resources, and aid that does not arrive at the same pace as desperation.