The death toll from the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24 rose to 3,535 on Monday—an increase of 193 from the figure reported the previous day—while authorities are working with the United States to plan the reconstruction of the damaged infrastructure.
According to official figures, the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck 12 days ago left at least 16,740 people injured and 17,854 homeless, prompting the establishment of 82 temporary camps. In addition, 6,462 people have been rescued.
Rebuilding Venezuela
🚨One of the many chilling accounts from the earthquake.
😨🇻🇪 “Hurry up, sweetie!” a father shouts as they rush down the stairs of a building during the strong earthquake that shook Venezuela. The video shows the harrowing seconds that… pic.twitter.com/1hCVoRymsO
— Cristian Crespo F. 🇨🇺 (@cristiancrespoj) July 5, 2026
The head of U.S. Southern Command, Francis Donovan, visited the country and met with Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, as part of joint efforts toward a “new cooperation agenda to aid in the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure” in the devastated region of La Guaira (in the north, near Caracas), according to the state-run channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
Rodríguez recently stated that he is in talks with the U.S. State Department, as well as with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to “secure funds” for reconstruction.
Venezuela plans to resume some commercial flights soon on a parallel runway at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía—the country’s main airport, which was affected by the twin earthquakes—the president reported.
The Chavista leader inspected the airport’s restoration work and announced an “immediate plan to resume” commercial airline operations “as soon as possible”—without specifying when—at this airport, located in La Guaira.
Bodies to Be Recovered
🚨Around noon this Sunday, search and rescue teams managed to recover a body from the rubble of Tower F of the Opp 25 residential complex in Tanaguarena, one of the structures that collapsed following the double earthquake that struck the… pic.twitter.com/LuzxKnyZHb
— Cristian Crespo F. 🇨🇺 (@cristiancrespoj) July 5, 2026
Relatives of the victims in La Guaira called for a halt to the demolition of the buildings on the verge of collapse, arguing that there are still bodies to be recovered.
According to the state governor, Chavista José Alejandro Terán, some 2,400 bodies have been recovered and “identified using state-of-the-art forensic technology,” but 231 of them have not been claimed by their families.
Hundreds of victims are being buried in several recently dug mass graves and, due to the emergency, in a municipal cemetery in La Guaira, according to several witnesses who spoke to EFE.
Terán, who warned that unclaimed bodies would be taken to the cemetery known as La Esperanza “for burial,” denied that there were mass graves and instead asserted that there are “individual graves for each” of the deceased, marked with a cross and an identification plaque.
Impact
#4Jul | Gabriel Nieves, who had previously heard people trapped under the rubble, has been working tirelessly since yesterday to clear the debris and search for people trapped beneath it.
His team detected signs of life on July 4 at OPP 26, #LaGuaira. 🙏
📽️ Courtesy of
✍️… pic.twitter.com/6cX6yoQPFk— Cristian Crespo F. 🇨🇺 (@cristiancrespoj) July 4, 2026
At least 38 hospitals and 432 schools have sustained damage in Caracas following the twin earthquakes, according to a report released Monday by UNICEF, which noted that “some schools that are being used as shelters will need to be refurbished and repaired before the start of the new school year in September.”
On Monday, Venezuela resumed school classes in 18 of the country’s 24 states that were not affected by the earthquakes.
The Presidential Commission on Infrastructure and Housing Livability and the Venezuelan College of Engineers have conducted nearly 6,000 housing inspections.
The committee chair and new Minister of Transportation, Francisco Garcés, said at a press conference that 70% of the structures evaluated are habitable, while 30% are subject to restricted use, meaning they require further inspection or pose some kind of risk to life.
Filed under: Rebuilding Venezuela
With information from EFE