VENEZUELAN authorities have launched an urgent, large-scale rescue operation as hopes fade for hundreds of people still trapped beneath the rubble after the country's most powerful earthquake in more than a century devastated large parts of the nation, leaving at least 188 people dead and more than 1,500 injured.
The twin earthquakes, which struck on Wednesday, flattened homes, damaged hundreds of buildings and caused widespread destruction across La Guaira, Caracas and neighbouring regions, forcing thousands of survivors to spend another night without shelter as emergency crews continued searching for signs of life.
CNN reported officials saying at least 157 people remain missing, while more than 200 others are believed to be trapped beneath approximately 250 collapsed or severely damaged buildings.
The scale of the disaster has prompted an international response, with elite urban search-and-rescue teams from Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles County deploying from the United States.
Mexico has also dispatched military rescue specialists and medical personnel to reinforce operations, while several countries continue searching for information about their nationals caught in the disaster.
Spain said at least 80 of its citizens remain unaccounted for.
Visiting the worst-hit coastal state of La Guaira, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello urged residents to work closely with emergency authorities as rescue efforts intensified.
"We have the people of La Guaira organized so far, and that is one of the things we ask of them most: that the people organize themselves, that they trust their government," Cabello said in remarks broadcast on state television VTV.
He said heavy machinery and specialist rescue brigades had been mobilised to accelerate recovery efforts and appealed for communities to help identify those still missing.
"We ask our people that, in the midst of this situation, we be able to organize ourselves in the communes, we be able to organize ourselves in all the structures we have to know who is missing, where they were, and so that we can do the rescue work with more precision," he said.
Interim President Delcy Rodríguez also travelled to La Guaira to oversee emergency operations, chairing a high-level meeting involving senior government officials, military commanders and disaster response agencies.
According to a statement from the presidency, the government's immediate priority "is focused on expediting operational decision-making to safeguard the lives of the population and assist the affected families."
Authorities said a multi-sector emergency contingency plan had been activated, including the deployment of heavy machinery and the rapid distribution of essential relief supplies such as drinking water, food, mattresses and blankets.
"As part of the multi-sector contingency plan, authorities have ordered the mobilization of heavy machinery and the priority distribution of basic supplies such as drinking water, food, mattresses, and blankets to those affected.
“Rescue, risk management, and social assistance teams remain deployed on the ground under a unified coordination scheme to guarantee the protection of the people of Guairá during this emergency," the statement said.
The catastrophe has struck Venezuela at a time when the country continues to grapple with prolonged political and economic challenges, further complicating relief efforts as thousands of displaced residents await aid and rescuers race against time to locate survivors buried beneath the debris. - June 26, 2026
