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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, July 27th 2026 - 12:20 UTC

Venezuela

  • Wednesday, July 8th 2026 - 07:10 UTC

    Venezuela quake death toll reaches 3,685 as economists urge lifting of US sanctions

    A worker paints the graves of unidentified victims of the June 24 earthquake. Photo: Miguel Medina / AFP

    The death toll from the twin earthquakes that struck northern Venezuela on June 24 rose to at least 3,685, after another 150 fatalities were added to Monday's count, according to official figures. The number of injured held at 16,740 and that of people rescued at 6,462, while those who lost their homes rose to 17,907. Authorities present the data as provisional.

  • Monday, July 6th 2026 - 20:30 UTC

    Venezuela earthquake death toll rises to 3,535 as international teams withdraw

    A wide discrepancy persists over the number of missing people

    The twin earthquakes that struck northern Venezuela on June 24 have left at least 3,535 people dead and 16,740 injured, according to the latest report released on Monday by the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez. The death toll rose by 193 from Sunday's figure, while the number of injured remained unchanged. Authorities present the data as provisional and subject to revision.

  • Monday, July 6th 2026 - 00:55 UTC

    Venezuela shifts to clearing rubble and recovering bodies as rescue teams depart

    Managing the rubble is emerging as one of the main challenges

    Venezuela entered a new stage in its response to the June 24 twin earthquake, focused on clearing rubble and recovering bodies, after the departure of nearly all international rescue teams. In the streets of La Guaira, the hardest-hit area, dozens of machines arrived in recent hours to speed up those tasks, which now fall mainly to Venezuelan volunteers, firefighters, civil defense and residents. The official toll stands at 2,954 dead and more than 16,500 injured.

  • Sunday, July 5th 2026 - 20:51 UTC

    Argentina sends fresh rescue brigades to Venezuela as most foreign teams begin to withdraw

    The Argentine contingent's departure comes as most foreign teams begin to leave Venezuela

    A new contingent of Argentine rescue workers left for Venezuela on Sunday to relieve the search-and-rescue teams deployed after the June 24 twin earthquake, which according to the official toll has left 2,954 dead and more than 16,500 injured. The dispatch coincides with the start of the withdrawal of most international missions, at the point when operations are shifting away from rescuing survivors toward the recovery phase.

  • 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.