Communities in Caracas and nearby La Guaira are in the midst of recovery from a pair of powerful earthquakes that struck the region in Venezuela within 39 seconds of each other Wednesday. The first registered a magnitude of 7.2, followed by a 7.5 magnitude quake.
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As of Friday morning, the death toll had risen to 589, with 2,980 others injured. The number of casualties is expected to rise as rescue efforts continue and thousands remain missing.
Acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced the updated casualties early Friday while welcoming international rescue crews.
“We are going to rescue the people who are trapped,” she said, according to The Associated Press. “We are working tirelessly on this task.”
Rodríguez noted that La Guaira, a port city just north of the capital, suffered the most damage. She announced plans to “militarize” the state to streamline recovery efforts. The Venezuelan military is already in the area providing aid, and workers have cleared several major roads, according to The New York Times.
Civilians are not shying away from aid as some have used their cars as emergency vehicles to transport those wounded to the nearby hospital, the Times reported.
Regional impacts and aftershocks
The International Organization for Migration estimated that as many as 6.76 million people across Venezuela could be affected by the disaster, including about 2 million in Caracas alone.
Venezuelan officials reported that the back-to-back quakes destroyed 250 buildings and left nearly 3,000 families homeless, the Times reported. The destruction — and fear of aftershocks — have left thousands of residents to sleep outside for the past several nights.
“We’ll stay here, best to be safe because there have been many aftershocks,” Aliria Álvarez told The New York Times.
At least 138 aftershocks have been reported, compounding the dangers of the recovery operation, according to NBC News. The U.S. Geological Service predicted that at least one aftershock with a magnitude of 5.0 or higher is likely to strike within the week.
International response
About 1,000 emergency responders from 25 international search-and-rescue teams are deploying to Venezuela, a spokesperson for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said, according to AP.
While dozens have pledged support, delivering aid has been hampered. The runway at Venezuela’s primary international airport was heavily damaged in the initial quakes, blocking many standard relief flights from landing, according to The New York Times.
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Despite the logistical hurdles, teams from Spain, Germany, Chile and Switzerland arrived Friday. Spanish units brought specialized tracking equipment, ground-penetrating radar and search dogs, according to AP.
Other arriving crews include personnel from Colombia, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador and Mexico, said Pedro Infante, the first vice president of Venezuela’s National Assembly, according to The New York Times.
“No country is prepared to provide the response that’s needed. That’s what neighboring countries are there for,” Dominican air force Maj. Carlos Olivares said, AP reported.
Meanwhile, India’s external affairs minister announced on social media that two military transport aircraft were en route to Venezuela with a field hospital unit, over 35 tons of relief supplies, medicines and medical equipment.
Operation Amistad underway!
Two @IAF_MCC C17s took-off today for Venezuela with urgent assistance to support their post-earthquake relief efforts.
The assistance contains an Indian Army @adgpi Field Hospital Unit and over 35 tons of relief supplies, medicines and medical… pic.twitter.com/Dcq8P065tp
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) June 26, 2026
U.S. pledges military and financial aid
The U.S. has pledged $150 million through the State Department to aid groups on the ground, as previously reported by the Deseret News. The U.S. military is also deploying regional assets, including aircraft and an amphibious transport ship, to support relief operations.
U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Jarrard arrived in Caracas on Thursday “to oversee Department of War support to Venezuela earthquake relief efforts,” U.S. Southern Command said, according to Fox News.
Specialized American rescue teams are also en route. A team from Fairfax County, Virginia, left early Friday morning with structural engineers, heavy-rigging experts and six search dogs, the Times reported.
USA-01 Heavy USAR team members are in the air enroute to #Venezuela as a part of the @StateDept @USForeignAssist response to the earthquakes on June 24th. @ffxfirerescue pic.twitter.com/0MggBZPXyB
— VA-TF1 / USA-01 – Urban Search and Rescue (@VATF1) June 26, 2026
Another team from the Los Angeles County Fire Department departed Thursday evening with 84,000 pounds of equipment and six canine teams.
As international relief continues to pour in, emergency workers face a critical shortage of heavy machinery. Due to Venezuela’s prolonged economic crisis, much of the country’s state-owned inventory of bulldozers and excavators has rusted out or lacks spare parts, making them useless for moving heavy concrete rubble, according to the Times.
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