Three days after twin earthquakes devastated Venezuela's northern coast, the official death toll has reached at least 920, with more than 3,300 injured and tens of thousands unaccounted for.
The 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes struck Wednesday, triggering what should have been an immediate, coordinated state response. Instead, residents in the hardest-hit areas — particularly La Guaira, where destruction has been most severe — report seeing minimal government rescue teams on the ground.
American search and rescue units from Virginia, California and Florida have been dispatched to fill the void, alongside the Trump administration's pledge of $150 million in emergency aid and deployment of naval vessels through U.S. Southern Command.
Since Friday, rescue teams have pulled 243 people from the rubble. The Los Angeles County Fire Department brought a 73-person team equipped with concrete-busting machinery, acoustic listening devices and specialized extraction gear.
On Friday evening, Venezuelan authorities announced they would begin restricting access to La Guaira, requiring permits for entry. The stated rationale was administrative — to prevent civilian interference with professional search operations.
Acting President Delcy Rodriguez, who assumed office following a U.S.-backed operation that removed former President Nicolás Maduro from power, has distributed some food and water to survivors, but residents say the assistance falls far short of need.
Meanwhile, ordinary Venezuelans have taken disaster response into their own hands. In neighborhoods across La Guaira, residents like Nazareth Jimenez have watched neighbors wielding hammers and power tools, manually breaking through concrete to reach the trapped.
"We're making a call for help to the government and countries across the world," Jimenez told reporters. "There are still people alive in there."
The first 48 to 72 hours after a major earthquake are the critical window for survivor recovery. As day three dawned, the most visible rescue infrastructure came from abroad, not from Rodriguez's government.
U.S. Southern Command posted images of heavy construction vehicles hauling boxes of supplies, with the caption emphasizing that American military assets were moving "critical life-saving equipment" around the clock.
