Australia’s latest twin earthquakes dealt a devastating blow to La Guaira, a coastal town that now hosts standing debris of a 12‑storey building, dozens of collapsed high‑rise apartments, and a grim tally of 1,700 confirmed deaths.
While firefighters from Venezuela and allies eventually arrived, many residents—and the families of the missing—complain that the rescue operations lagged and lacked the necessary machines and professional teams to dig through the rubble.
“We have no machines or rescuers sent to dig through the rubble. It’s like you’re left on your own to find your loved ones,” a single mother of two teenage daughters told the reporters after seeing a photo of her daughters’ possible bodies in the debris.
Miguel Oscar Nunez, whose son Angel was stuck inside the collapsed building, demanded “more support from authorities urgently to dig them out,” claiming that the government’s negligence could be the difference between life and death for the trapped.
Local volunteers took advantage of the quiet in the streets, digging with spades and crowbars while rescuers paused to listen for any audible pleas from under the rubble. The silence, however, gave little hope and intensified frustrations.
The government’s response was met with calls for stricter accountability. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez described the earthquakes as the “most brutal natural catastrophe” in Venezuelan history, but critics argue that recognition alone is insufficient without concrete aid.
When Colombian and American teams finally arrived, they found disrupted sections that had remained untouched for days, suggesting that the emergency protocols were either delayed or poorly coordinated. Juan Avendo and his nephew Enyer Musics spoke of pulling a screaming woman to safety by hand—showing that individual efforts had filled gaps left by official responders.
The last official rescue mission concluded on Sunday, but families along the coastline keep hoping that the police’s presence and the loud gunshots at the entrance of collapsed blocks will prompt additional help.
Source: BBC News, 30 June 2026
