The situation in Venezuela has become increasingly dire as residents sift through the debris of collapsed homes and apartment buildings three days following the destructive 7.2 and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes, with time running out to locate survivors.
Authorities announced Friday night that access to La Guaira, the site of the destruction's epicenter, would be restricted due to chaos and traffic impeding search operations. Officials stated that entry now requires official permits, though they provided minimal detail regarding who would be granted access.
Venezuelans have taken matters into their own hands in searching for missing relatives, citing a shortage of government rescuers amid reports that the human cost of Wednesday's quakes reached at least 920 dead and over 51,000 missing. Despite official projections of a strong governmental response, residents reported seeing few state rescue teams in the most affected areas.
Aid agencies consider the initial 48 to 72 hours critical for retrieving living individuals, though this timeframe can be extended if access to food and water is maintained.
"Each person saved is a miracle," stated Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly. "We are not going to hide absolutely anything about the magnitude of this tragedy."
Anxious families await news on relatives' survival
In La Guaira state, located north of the capital Caracas, Nazareth Jimenez wept into a loved one’s shoulder while watching neighbors use hammers and power tools to cut through concrete slabs in a building reduced to rubble. She was consumed by anxiety waiting for her siblings, nephews, nieces, and friends to emerge alive.
"My God, how are we going to get them out of there?" Jimenez murmured.
"We’re making a call for help to the government and countries across the world," she said, pleading for machinery capable of moving collapsed structures. "There are still people alive in there."
Government forces distributed food and water to survivors in La Guaira. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared that her administration was mounting a full response during these "critical hours for rescuing people alive."
She welcomed the arrival of international rescuers and humanitarian aid, stating that La Guaira had been militarized and more assistance was forthcoming, even as residents indicated this was only a fraction of what they required.
The disaster presents a significant challenge for Rodríguez, who assumed office in January after the United States' capture and removal of then-President Nicolás Maduro. Venezuela has experienced economic instability for over a decade, and many citizens question the legitimacy of the political movement Rodriguez represents.
Independent digital databases indicated that the number of dead was expected to rise, with tens of thousands reported missing. These figures likely encompass individuals who have been unreachable due to lack of cell phone signals, and some reports may be duplicates.
As of midday Friday, over 3,300 people were injured, and authorities confirmed rescuing 243.
Millions are affected by the disaster
The International Organization for Migration reported that up to 6.76 million people could be impacted, with an estimated two million in Caracas alone. Experts noted that the rapid succession of shallow quakes exacerbated the destruction.
Loyce Pace, regional director for the Americas at the International Red Cross, commented that "people are still terrified to reenter what were their homes."
Indeed, many continued to sleep outdoors.
Omar Reyes reported that approximately 20 family members died.
"I’ve been left alone in this life," Reyes said while walking through rubble where two of his children were buried.
In the city of Maiquetia, people queued outside stores and pharmacies, receiving aid individually behind closed doors. At one point, a woman in the crowd threw herself on the ground to shield a package of diapers with her body, desperate to keep it.
Search efforts were occasionally disrupted by traffic and crowds of motorcyclists. Mexican soldiers and volunteers repeatedly requested silence to detect signs of life under the rubble, but bikers—both civilian and uniformed—continued to honk horns and rev engines, frustrating first responders.
Some individuals began taking basic necessities like toilet paper and food from stores in Catia La Mar, near the country's main airport. Others swarmed a civilian pickup truck distributing bread and water until a soldier intervened. A pharmacy parking lot became an impromptu shelter equipped with tarps, hammocks, and tents.
A few miles away, Yuleidy Cadenas, 28, stood across from a collapsed public housing building, hoping her son, mother, and brother would be pulled out alive.
She fled barefoot from another structure as it fell on Wednesday and discovered her mother’s 12-floor apartment tower had pancaked.
"I got on top of the rubble and told them to yell back, and nobody did, not my brother, nor my son or my mother," Cadenas stated.
International aid is arriving
Venezuelan authorities confirmed Friday that 861 volunteers from Mexico, the U.S., El Salvador, Switzerland, Colombia, and other nations were in the country, with more expected from elsewhere.
Acting President Rodríguez said she spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday, who reaffirmed their commitment to sending rescue teams and aid equipment.
Janetsky reported from Mexico City. Associated Press journalists Clara Preve in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Dánica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed.