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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, August 11th 2026 - 21:00 UTC

Venezuela

  • 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.

  • Friday, June 26th 2026 - 13:52 UTC

    Venezuela's quake death toll climbs to 589 as the rescue window narrows

    The World Health Organization recalled that the first 72 hours are decisive for finding victims alive

    The number of victims from the twin earthquake that struck north-central Venezuela on Wednesday rose to at least 589 dead and 2,980 injured, according to the toll given on Friday by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who warned that the figure would keep rising. Rescue teams worked against the clock through the rubble as the first 72 hours —considered critical for finding survivors— drew to a close.

  • Thursday, June 25th 2026 - 21:51 UTC

    Fishermen film the first seconds of Venezuela's earthquake from the sea off La Guaira

    In the video the reaction of the fishermen and an unusual movement of the boats can be seen during the first seconds of the quake

    A group of fishermen working off the coast of La Guaira state captured on video the moment when the two earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 that shook Venezuela began on Wednesday and that, according to the latest official toll, left at least 164 dead and 971 injured. The footage, shared on social media, became one of the most widely circulated records of the catastrophe.

  • Thursday, June 25th 2026 - 09:30 UTC

    Two powerful earthquakes strike northern Venezuela and collapse buildings in Caracas

    The USGS described both quakes as a “seismic doublet,” a phenomenon in which two large-magnitude earthquakes occur seconds apart in the same area

    Two powerful earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, about 39 seconds apart, struck north-central Venezuela on Wednesday afternoon, collapsing buildings in the capital, Caracas, and leaving rescue teams working through the rubble, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared a state of emergency, though she did not provide figures for the injured or dead.