ABOUT 50,000 PEOPLE CONSIDERED MISSING: Venezuela on the brink of collapse, citizens digging through the ruins with their bare hands!

Venezuela is facing the worst natural disaster in its history after two devastating earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale hit the country last Wednesday. While rescue teams race against time, the death toll has reached 1,450, while the United Nations puts out a terrifying estimate of approximately 50,000 missing.

However, in the midst of the destruction, the news about a mother and her 18-day-old baby, who were rescued from the ruins of a building in La Guaira 32 hours after the devastating earthquakes, traveled around the world. Rescuers pulled them out of the buried building and transported them to a hospital in Caracas, where both were taken care of, Sky News reported. According to medical information, the mother and baby are stable.

In addition, the media writes about the “miracle in Caraballeda”, a coastal town north of Caracas. After spending almost four days under the ruins, French and American rescue teams managed to pull out a man and his teenage son alive.

Exhausted, in a state of shock, but stable, they are a symbol of hope for a country going through unprecedented suffering.

🇻🇪 STUNNING RESCUE: A young man is pulled out after being buried under rubble for days in La Guaira, Venezuela.

The boy can be heard sobbing tears of joy and relief after being rescued with only a few visible injuries.

Miracles do happen!https://t.co/WsqeXtHXlb
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) June 28, 2026

Ruins, despair and the “silent” army

The situation on the ground is dramatic. According to official data presented by the President of the Parliament, Jorge Rodríguez, at least 774 facilities were destroyed or severely damaged, of which 189 were completely razed to the ground. Material damage is estimated at around seven billion dollars, which represents as much as six percent of the GDP of a country that has been exhausted for years by a deep economic and political crisis.

However, along with the natural disaster, the anger of citizens is also growing. Incidents and lootings of pharmacies and supermarkets were recorded in the La Guaira area. Residents accuse the authorities of passivity, and videos of bitter citizens criticizing the army are circulating on social networks.

GRAPHIC CONTENT WARNING: A father and son were pulled alive from the rubble of a collapsed building in La Guaira, Venezuela, four days after twin earthquakes killed over 1,400 people and left scores missing https://t.co/Nj4mrQQhMt pic.twitter.com/diaWNJCC4X
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 28, 2026

“My bitterness stems from the fact that a general arrived with twenty armed soldiers and they just stood in the corner. They could have pulled someone out, even dead, but they just sat quietly,” said Alejandro Mijares, a merchant who works as a volunteer rescuer.

Only after fierce protests by citizens did the army begin to participate more actively in clearing the ground with pickaxes and shovels.

Entre los escombros, las labores de búsqueda y rescate no se detienen en las zonas gravemente impactadas por los terremotos en Venezuela.

El contingente salvadoreño ejecuta acciones especializadas en el sector de Coral Bella. pic.twitter.com/5GyxVXLA0c
— Noticiero El Salvador 🇸🇻 (@NoticieroSLV) June 29, 2026

International aid and the fight for every life

So far, 521 tons of material aid from 24 countries have arrived in Venezuela. More than 2,700 rescuers and 86 teams with trained search dogs are engaged on the ground. Among the victims are at least 28 foreign nationals or persons with dual citizenship, mostly from Spain and China.

The Acting President, Delcy Rodríguez, announced that 33 people were pulled from the ruins over the weekend and that operations will not be suspended as long as there is even the slightest hope. Schools will remain closed for at least another week, while thousands of people sleep on the streets and in improvised tents.

On the occasion of the tragedy, Pope Leo XIV also spoke out, expressing solidarity with “brothers and sisters in Venezuela” in the Spanish language during a prayer in the Vatican.

At the same time, the political scene remains tense. Opposition leader María Corina Machado announced her quick return to the country, emphasizing that it is her duty to be with her people in these difficult moments, despite the fact that the authorities consider her a fugitive.

While the ground in Venezuela still shakes occasionally, survivors, like Héctor Aguilera, who is still looking for four members of his family under the ruins, remain silent witnesses to a disaster the likes of which has not been seen in these areas since 1997.