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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, July 17th 2026 - 06:03 UTC

Venezuela

  • Friday, July 3rd 2026 - 23:29 UTC

    Six months after Maduro's capture, Rodríguez's interim mandate expires after the quake

    Maduro's capture led to a reconfiguration of power headed by Rodríguez and her brother Jorge

    Six months after the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro by the United States, Venezuela faces an institutional crossroads: the 180-day interim mandate of acting President Delcy Rodríguez —granted after Maduro's removal in January— was set to expire on Friday, with no clarity on what would come next. The uncertainty is compounded by the June 24 twin earthquake, which left more than 2,500 dead according to the official toll and has become the government's biggest test of competence.

  • Thursday, July 2nd 2026 - 15:32 UTC

    A multinational rescue frees Hernán, trapped eight days under Venezuela's quake rubble

    Gil, who worked as a guard in the underground parking garage of a shopping mall, survived by sheltering under the desk of his booth when the building collapsed

    A 43-year-old Venezuelan security guard, Hernán Gil, was rescued alive on Thursday after eight days trapped under the rubble of a building that collapsed in Catia La Mar, in La Guaira state, during the twin earthquake that struck the country on June 24. The Costa Rican Red Cross, which took part in the operation, confirmed the rescue, considered one of the most complex and prolonged of the disaster, which has left at least 2,295 dead and more than 11,000 injured, according to the official toll.

  • Thursday, July 2nd 2026 - 08:51 UTC

    Venezuela's quake toll passes 2,295 a week on, with tens of thousands still unaccounted for

    Search efforts continued in the coastal state of La Guaira, the hardest hit, where most of the victims are concentrated

    A week after the twin earthquake that struck north-central Venezuela, the official toll rose to at least 2,295 dead and 11,267 injured, according to National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, who has been the main voice for the figures since the disaster. The United Nations humanitarian coordinator in the country, Gianluca Rampolla, warned that the number “will keep growing” as rescue and debris-removal work advances.

  • Tuesday, June 30th 2026 - 22:08 UTC

    Chilean rescuers allege military harassment in Venezuela's quake zone

    According to Lermanda's account to Venezuelan and Chilean media, soldiers have repeatedly demanded identity documents from his 46 rescuers, on suspicion of espionage

    The leader of the Topos Chile rescue group, Francisco Lermanda, alleged that his teams deployed in the Venezuelan state of La Guaira have been harassed by soldiers during search operations in the area hardest hit by the June 24 twin earthquake, which according to the official toll has left at least 1,943 dead. The Venezuelan authorities have not commented on the accusations.

  • Tuesday, June 30th 2026 - 07:41 UTC

    Venezuela's María Corina Machado accuses the government of blocking her return after the earthquake

    Machado left Venezuela in late 2025 to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and has repeatedly called for the support of US President Donald Trump to achieve a change of government

    Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado on Monday accused the government of acting President Delcy Rodríguez of closing the country's airspace to prevent her return, as Venezuela copes with the emergency caused by the June 24 twin earthquake, which has left more than 1,700 dead and some 5,000 injured. “They want to block my return to Venezuela,” Machado said in a video posted on social media, in which she said she was in Panama.

  • Tuesday, June 30th 2026 - 07:35 UTC

    Mexican rescuers in Venezuela call it one of the largest tragedies they have faced

    The Mexican detachment numbers some 280 soldiers, plus close to 300 members of the Red Cross, firefighters and civil protection, deployed as part of the DN-III civilian-assistance plan

    Rescuers from the Mexican Army's Emergency Response Battalion (BAE), considered among the most experienced in the world in natural disasters, say the earthquake that devastated north-central Venezuela is “one of the largest tragedies” they have attended, above all because of the scale of the damage. The team is working in the coastal state of La Guaira, the hardest-hit area, where the official toll exceeded 1,700 dead on Monday.

  • Sunday, June 28th 2026 - 20:51 UTC

    Why Venezuela's earthquake was so deadly: shallow, powerful and just seconds apart

    The satellite images that have gradually emerged confirm a trail of collapsed buildings along the coast, the most densely populated and hardest-hit area

    The combination of two powerful, very shallow earthquakes just 39 seconds apart explains much of the devastation left by Wednesday's earthquake in north-central Venezuela, where the latest official toll exceeds 1,450 dead and 3,150 injured. The satellite images that have gradually emerged confirm a trail of collapsed buildings along the coast, the most densely populated and hardest-hit area.

  • Sunday, June 28th 2026 - 20:31 UTC

    Collapsed hospitals and morgues raise health fears in Venezuela's earthquake zone

    Authorities have restricted access to La Guaira to ease the entry of heavy machinery and specialized teams

    The emergency caused by the twin earthquake that struck north-central Venezuela on Wednesday is beginning to turn into a health risk, given the bodies that remain under the rubble and the collapse of hospitals and morgues in the worst-hit areas, particularly the coastal state of La Guaira. Authorities this weekend raised the toll to at least 1,450 dead and some 3,150 injured, a figure they warned would keep rising.

  • Saturday, June 27th 2026 - 09:45 UTC

    UK sends a 68-strong search and rescue team and £2 million in aid to Venezuela

    The UK's International Search and Rescue team, made up of 68 personnel and six specialist dogs, departed from Brize Norton on a RAF aircraft to assist in locating and rescuing people

    The United Kingdom on Friday deployed a specialist search and rescue team of 68 people and announced an initial £2 million (about $2.7 million) in humanitarian funding to support the response to the earthquakes that devastated north-central Venezuela, where the latest official toll exceeds 580 dead and 2,900 injured.

  • Saturday, June 27th 2026 - 09:21 UTC

    Venezuela's earthquake toll rises to at least 920 dead as rescuers race against time

    Despite the time elapsed, teams were still rescuing people alive

    The number of victims from the twin earthquake that struck north-central Venezuela on Wednesday rose to at least 920 dead and 3,360 injured, according to the toll given on Friday by the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, who specified that at least 172 people remain trapped under the rubble. Rescue teams worked against the clock more than 48 hours after the quakes, as the chances of finding survivors narrowed.