In the coastal town of La Guaira, rescue operations remain tense as teams search through the remnants of a 12-storey building. Rescuers frequently signal for absolute silence, cutting engines and halting work to listen for potential survivors trapped beneath the concrete. This site is among the most severely impacted areas following the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela last Wednesday, resulting in at least 1,700 deaths. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez has officially labeled the disaster as the most severe natural catastrophe in the nation’s history.
For families like that of Miguel Oscar Nunez, whose 34-year-old son Angel was inside the building, the waiting is agonizing. Expressing profound anger, Nunez criticized the authorities, stating that many survivors might perish due to government negligence rather than the initial tremors themselves. Kevin Montilla, a resident whose wife and 16-year-old daughter remain trapped, echoed these sentiments, describing the state’s response as both frustrating and impotent. He noted that initial rescue efforts were conducted primarily by local community members, while police were present but did not actively participate in the labor-intensive recovery.
While search teams from Venezuela, Colombia, El Salvador, and the United States have since arrived, affected families argue that critical days were lost during the initial delay. In many regions of La Guaira state, search teams have yet to even arrive. Deilisbeth Herreira, who is searching for her two daughters, Greydelys and Graybelys, described the desperation of feeling entirely abandoned by the state, noting that no formal machinery or rescue personnel had been dispatched to help her search for her children.
Similar sentiments of abandonment persist along the coastline, where apartment complexes like the Bello Horizonte structure have collapsed. Volunteers and residents have been forced to use makeshift tools like spades and crowbars to search for missing relatives, including uncles and neighbors, often amidst the stench of the disaster site. Juan Avendo, a 60-year-old local resident, recounted how he and his nephew Enyer Musics were forced to rely on their own hands to rescue a trapped woman after hearing her screams. Official firefighters finally arrived on Friday, nearly two days after the initial impact, but by Sunday, the official operation was called off. Many residents fear the true death toll remains unknown and that numerous bodies may never be recovered.
