Hope fades, hunger grows a week after Venezuela quakes

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A week after twin earthquakes in Venezuela, over 2,300 people have died and tens of thousands remain missing amid shortages of food and essential resources. The disaster has devastated infrastructure and health services in a country already struggling economically and politically.

Hope of finding more survivors faded on Wednesday as Venezuela marked a week since twin earthquakes killed almost 2,300 people, while many who lived through the disaster were running desperately short on food. As the death toll mounted, Venezuela’s interim president Delcy Rodriguez declared seven days of mourning, saying the country’s “soul is torn apart by the human losses.” Tens of thousands of people remain unaccounted for. This aerial view shows people holding lit candles and a Venezuelan flag during a vigil paying tribute to victims of earthquakes in Venezuela, with the word “VENEZUELA” formed with candles on the ground at Plaza Estado del Vaticano in Buenos Aires on July 1, 2026. — AFP The majority of collapsed buildings in the hardest-hit city of La Guaira, just north of Caracas, have been marked with the letter ‘D’ for ‘deceased’ — a sign they had been searched with no signs of life found. “Time isn’t wasted in a place where there is no expectation of recovering people alive,” said Javier Rodes, the coordinator of a Spanish rescue team whose sniffer dog Nala searched in vain through the rubble for traces of life. People search for their deceased relatives among the debris of a collapsed building in the Los Corales neighbourhood of Caraballeda, La Guaira State, Venezuela on July 1, 2026, following the June 24 twin earthquakes. — AFP There have been miracle survivors, such as a three-year-old boy found alive on Tuesday, six days after Venezuela’s most powerful quake in over a century. But experts say trapped victims are unlikely to survive more than 72 hours. “No one is coming out of here, alive or dead,” said Jose Rafael, standing among the ruins where his son is missing in the town of Caraballeda in La Guaira state. A person searches for a deceased relative among the debris of a collapsed building in the Los Corales neighbourhood of Caraballeda, La Guaira State, Venezuela on July 1, 2026, following the June 24 twin earthquakes. — AFP Elsewhere a group of residents was left frustrated after an American rescuer informed them there were “no signs of life” from another heap of rubble. Many had believed they would find their relatives alive after hearing sounds from within the debris. Venezuela’s National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said Wednesday that deaths had risen to 2,295, and more than 11,000 people were injured. He said almost 13,000 people had been left homeless. A fight for food The United Nations estimates 50,000 people are missing. The two powerful quakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5, shattered entire neighborhoods in oil-rich Venezuela, which has suffered decades of economic crisis that devastated infrastructure and health services. The country is in a fragile transition six months after the United States ousted leader Nicolas Maduro, and lives under constant pressure from Washington for access to Venezuela’s oil and other natural resources. The US has around 2,000 personnel assisting in the response, General Francis Donovan, the head of US Southern Command, told journalists on Wednesday. People displaced by the earthquakes that struck the country on June 24, live in tents in a park, in Caracas, Venezuela, July 1, 2026. — Reuters International rescue teams arrived from around the globe to dig out survivors, while locals are furious at the absence of the state in the aftermath of the disaster. With daily life in ruins, the focus is now shifting to survival. Many are homeless and food and water are becoming scarce. “They give out supplies here, but sometimes people nearly kill each other for food… It’s like a cockfight,” Daniela Armas, 18, a vendor in La Guaira, said after waiting to get food at an emergency shelter. People displaced by the earthquakes that struck the country on June 24, live in a park, in Caracas, Venezuela, July 1, 2026. — Reuters There has been widespread theft and looting and on Wednesday four police officers were arrested after being caught by residents stealing valuables from the rubble. “The situation is quite critical,” said Lia Poggio, head of mission in Venezuela for the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). Queues for aid are growing longer by the day, with many surviving on the goodwill of volunteers and donations from fellow citizens. People who are displaced by the earthquakes that struck the country on June 24, drink beverages as they live in tents in a park, in Caracas, Venezuela, July 1, 2026. — Reuters “Here, we were receiving nothing until last night when they started bringing water,” said 56-year-old Fatima Berroteran, who has been sleeping with her family in a parking lot since their home in a high-rise complex in La Guaira collapsed. “I feel guilty about eating, because every time I eat I think there’s someone who has nothing to eat,” said Aysmar Lopez, a young woman bringing home-cooked meals to several shelters. A man carries a mattress as peop