Caracas Chronicles

589 dead. 2,980 wounded. 214 aftershocks of the two earthquakes that shocked Venezuela after 6 pm of June 24. This is the new balance by Delcy Rodriguez on June 26. 

Everyone expects the death toll to rise to the thousands, just by looking at the extent of the damage. Or to the first images of bodies of adults and children exposed to the Caribbean sun in the backyard of a health office in La Guaira.   

After following the chavista tradition of embracing a military approach to the emergency with an Estado Mayor led by a National Guard general, Rodriguez is now ordering that La Guaira state is occupied by the armed forces. Meaning that the military will rule over the civilian authorities. Exactly what Hugo Chavez did in the same place 26 years ago, in December 1999, when landslides destroyed entire neighborhoods and thousands of people perished. 

Meanwhile, social media and media outlets are flooded with videos, photos and stories that insist on a single idea: Venezuelan society was left alone with the worst disaster it has suffered during the 21st century -besides the collapse of the petrostate, the humanitarian emergency and hyperinflation that exploded in 2017-2018, the mass migration, the crimes against the humanity committed by the Maduro regime and many high officers still in power, and the death of democracy. 

Two days after the twin earthquakes that toppled buildings in Caracas and at least five states and caused vast devastation in the coastal cities close to the capital, the interim unelected president appeared in Macuto to perform the role of someone in charge, but social media abound in heartbreaking testimonies recorded during the day after. While places like Chacao and San Bernardino, in Caracas, were surrounded by emergency teams and volunteers just after the earthquakes, in the coast, harder to access from Caracas, the resources are very limited or totally absent.

During June 25, survivors begged for the arrival of rescuers by the mountain of rubble that were once buildings, where the voices of their loved ones ceased to be heard.

People camping in the streets said that no police, firemen, rescuers or soldiers have provided any help, supplies, or water. Neighbors were using ropes and their bare hands to try to extract someone from under tons of debris. All of them are saying the same: we are on our own, we know nothing of the government.

In some videos, one can see a few young soldiers of the National Guard and police officers helping the firemen and rescue workers, but it’s mostly untrained volunteers who are trying to remove rubble and get their hands on survivors and bodies. 

On the night of June 25 and the morning of June 26, more professionals are just reaching the most impacted areas, from El Junquito to Caracas and Guatire, and Playa Grande and Caraballeda in La Guaira. Rescue teams from Carabobo, Merida, Zulia, Tachira and other states traveled the capital region to join the efforts. And the first foreign teams landed in Maiquetia airport, which was damaged by the earthquake and has limited capacity, the airbases Francisco de Miranda (Caracas) and Libertador (Maracay) and other civilian airports like Valencia’s.  

More than a dozen countries offered help, and financial aid packages are also coming from development banks like CAF, headquartered in Caracas, which pledged USD 300,000. Military and civilian teams specialized in emergency operations came from Colombia, Mexico, El Salvador, Spain, and Ecuador. More teams are expected from countries like Switzerland and Italy, plus the famous Topos from Mexico and a multinational European squad. They bring technicians and trained dogs to search for survivors, but also equipment for logistical autonomy and machinery to remove rubble. 

The chavista regime must have coordinated this help, that only arrives to sites through official channels. Global NGOs like Caritas, the Red Cross and World Central Kitchen are also deploying teams on the sites, with the help of local partners.  

But a great deal of public attention and expectations fall on the US. 

The Trump administration made a big announcement of help, which is financial, technical and military. OFAC granted licenses to facilitate the funding of efforts in Venezuela. USD 150 million were pledged to different international entities and another USD 100 million to the UN agency in charge of assisting. The Department of State and the Department of War are combining assets in the Caribbean to transport troops and rescuers, supplies, equipment and technology. There’s a task Force in Washington and a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) deployed to Venezuela. 

On the night of June 15, Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Jarrard (pictured above) arrived in Caracas to coordinate the response by the part of the Southern Command. The first USAF C17 planes just landed in Palo Negro with personnel and equipment, but at least two warships will support the operations from the waters close to the devastated Venezuelan coast. 

This is a test for the role that the Trump administration assigned to the US in Venezuela since the military buildup in 2025 and the sort of takeover of the interim regime after the extraction of Nicolas Maduro on January 3, 2026. How that will work out is something to determine later.

For the moment, every minute counts. And for the thousands of Venezuelans trying to find their loved ones in the building that went down after 6 pm on June 24, the help is coming too late.