The death toll from the earthquakes in Venezuela rises to 235 dead and 4,300 injured

BarcelonaTwo powerful earthquakes, separated by just 39 seconds, have shaken Venezuela and caused a tragedy of great proportions. The victim toll is still very provisional, with 235 deaths and 4,300 injuries confirmed by the country's government, but it is feared that the figure will increase considerably in the coming hours, as rescue teams can clear the enormous amount of rubble accumulated by the collapse of buildings.

The first tremor, with a magnitude of 7.2, occurred at six in the evening local time (in the early morning in Catalonia), about 160 kilometers west of Caracas. Less than a minute later, another tremor, with a magnitude of 7.5 degrees, worsened the situation. The most powerful earthquake in more than a century in the Latin American country has turned the state of La Guaira, north of the capital, into a "disaster zone," in the words of the interim president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, who has declared a state of emergency.

According to calculations by the United States Geological Survey, the death toll could be above 10,000 people and reach up to 100,000. A website created by opposition leaders in the country, where the disappearance of relatives can be reported, registers that there are more than 41,000 people unaccounted for, although the figure continues to rise. According to the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are at least two Spaniards dead and 80 who have not yet been located.

At least 200 trapped

Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly and brother of the country's president, stated that at least 250 buildings have collapsed and 2,927 families have been left homeless. He also said that at least 200 people have been detected trapped under the rubble. "We are in a race against time to rescue the majority alive," he declared.

The images arriving from various parts of the northwest of the country are worrying. Entire apartment blocks reduced to rubble and extensively damaged infrastructure make up a large part of Venezuela's urban landscape this Thursday. The interim president has announced the creation of a fund of 200 million dollars with resources that her country has deposited with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which will be allocated to the reconstruction of affected infrastructure and to financing the construction of new housing.

The natural disaster will further aggravate the situation of millions of Venezuelans living in poverty. According to the NGO Oxfam, almost 8 million people were already in a situation of humanitarian need at the beginning of this year.

The US president, Donald Trump, who has unilaterally tutored Venezuela since the January attack, has predicted a "devastating" death toll. In a message on the Truth Social network, he said he had instructed "all government agencies to help quickly," and Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that search and rescue teams had been deployed to the country. “We will stand by our new and great friends,” Trump added, highlighting the new relationship with Rodríguez's government since the US captured President Nicolás Maduro, now imprisoned in Washington accused of drug trafficking.

Maduro published a message on X in which he called for “maximum unity, maximum solidarity and maximum action.” “May each community take care of its children, its elders, its sick,” he urged Venezuelans.

Proof of the magnitude and consequences of the earthquake is that the epicenter has been in the state of Carabobo, about 300 kilometers from Caracas, but the damage has been strongly felt in the capital, where numerous buildings have collapsed, and also in the states of Miranda, Falcón, and La Guaira. The country's main airport had to close after suffering serious damage.

In La Guaira is where the concern is most extreme, as the first toll of dead and injured does not include this area, where there are "dozens of collapsed buildings." The region, which has half a million inhabitants and until 2019 was called Vargas, is located on the coast and is known for its paradisiacal beaches. A source from the humanitarian sector informs EFE that there are already some victims reporting "a considerable amount" of deaths in this state.

This area is the main point of entry to the country, as it is where Simón Bolívar International Airport is located and it also leads Venezuela's port activity. The double earthquake has caused thousands of people to spend the night on the streets, both in La Guaira and in the rest of the affected states, either for fear of new aftershocks or because their homes had been affected. The night, during which at least 30 aftershocks were registered, has complicated the tasks of the emergency services, who are searching for victims buried among the rubble of collapsed buildings.

The earthquakes of the last few hours are the most serious of this century. The last one was in 1997 in the state of Sucre, where 73 deaths and hundreds of injuries were registered. Before that, in 1967, an earthquake of magnitude 6.6 left 245 dead and almost a century ago, in 1929, another earthquake of magnitude 6.9 caused a tsunami that cost 800 people their lives.

International support

Several countries have already offered aid to Venezuela. The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, has shown his support for the country and has made the resources of the embassy and consulate in Caracas available: "Our thoughts are with the victims," he published on X. For his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs has offered his Venezuelan counterpart the help of the Military Emergencies Unit (UME) and said that for the moment there is no record of any Spanish citizens among the dead and injured. From Catalonia, President Salvador Illa has assured that the Generalitat has activated cooperation mechanisms to send "whatever aid is necessary".

Several Latin American countries, such as Argentina, Mexico, Paraguay, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, and Chile, have made themselves available to help Venezuela and have announced their willingness to send reinforcements. Other states, such as Russia and China, have expressed their condolences and offered assistance in the face of the catastrophe.

The European Commission has activated the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to coordinate the European response to the consequences of the earthquakes in Venezuela, after Caracas requested it. The 27 states of the Union participate in this mechanism, as well as Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Norway, Serbia, Turkey, and Ukraine. Pope Leo XIV has sent an initial aid of 100,000 euros to Venezuela through the Apostolic Alms Office.