VENEZUELA: The death toll from Venezuela’s twin earthquakes rose to 1,430 on Saturday, with millions of people feared to be without sanitation and other basic necessities as the first US aid flights began arriving in Caracas.
Amid growing public anger over the response by local authorities, US-backed interim Venezuelan leader Delcy Rodriguez said the country was “not alone” in confronting the disaster.
The United States announced that one runway at Simon Bolivar International Airport had resumed operations, allowing C-17 US military aircraft to land, while a US naval ship had also reached the Venezuelan coast.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said search-and-rescue teams from at least 17 countries were being mobilised to assist efforts to locate survivors.
Meanwhile, residents continued desperately searching through the rubble of collapsed apartment buildings following Wednesday’s powerful earthquakes. Experts say the first 72 hours after a natural disaster offer the best chance of finding survivors.
A rare moment of hope came on Friday in the worst-hit coastal region of La Guaira, north of Caracas, where local residents rescued an infant alive from the debris around 32 hours after the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes struck.
Earlier on Saturday, the Venezuelan government said more than 1,600 members of foreign rescue teams had arrived to support search operations.
Residents and volunteers in La Guaira — a popular beach destination where at least 100 buildings, including many residential high-rises, were destroyed or damaged — have criticised the shortage of heavy machinery and the limited presence of official rescue teams.
In an overnight address on state television, Rodriguez said rescue teams from 10 additional countries were expected to join the operation, while 14,000 military personnel and police officers had been deployed across La Guaira to maintain security and carry out sanitation measures.
Foreign Ministry official Oliver Blanco said Venezuela had received 17 flights carrying more than 1,600 rescue workers, with another 25 flights expected to arrive over the next 24 hours.
“We thank the international community for its support and solidarity during these moments of uncertainty for Venezuelans,” Blanco wrote on X early on Saturday.
Rescue teams continued operations across La Guaira state and the capital, Caracas. However, some affected areas still lacked an official rescue presence on Friday, forcing families and neighbours to dig through the rubble, often using only their hands, in search of missing relatives.
Authorities closed the main highway linking La Guaira and Caracas on Friday evening, saying heavy traffic was obstructing emergency vehicles and rescue teams.
Police on Saturday prevented civilians without official rescue credentials, including Reuters journalists, from using the main road, while an older secondary route remained heavily congested.
The government had earlier thanked civilians, many of whom transported aid by motorcycle, for helping affected communities. State television broadcast images of thousands of donated pairs of shoes, clothing and other relief supplies being collected for distribution.
Power remained out near the earthquake epicentre in Moron and throughout La Guaira on Friday. However, Rodriguez said electricity had been restored to around 60 per cent of affected areas elsewhere.
Venezuela’s power grid, weakened by years of underinvestment and economic sanctions, has long suffered frequent disruptions, with many regions regularly experiencing prolonged daily blackouts.
Although the government has reported that hundreds of people remain missing or trapped, an opposition-backed website lists more than 54,000 people as unaccounted for.
The US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated that the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes could ultimately claim more than 10,000 lives, potentially making them among the deadliest natural disasters in Latin America over the past century.
The United Nations estimated that nearly seven million people could be affected by the disaster, with direct economic losses reaching approximately $6.7 billion.
The disaster could also have political implications for Rodriguez, who has sought to present herself as a reformist leader despite previously serving as vice president under Nicolas Maduro, who was ousted and arrested by the United States in January.
Rodriguez held telephone conversations on Friday with US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio after meeting officials from the US military’s Northern Command and disaster response experts.
The United States said it was mobilising $150 million in humanitarian assistance, easing sanctions on Venezuela, and deploying two naval vessels, while helicopters and military aircraft would support rescue operations.
Among the international teams working in La Guaira are rescuers from El Salvador. President Nayib Bukele has highlighted several successful rescue operations on his X account, including the rescue of a 15-year-old girl.
Reuters witnesses also reported incidents of looting at several locations across La Guaira.
Despite the devastation, Oil Minister Paula Henao said on Friday that Venezuela’s oil production had not been affected by the earthquakes and that fuel supplies would continue uninterrupted. Oil executives and workers also reported that the sector had escaped major infrastructure damage.