CARACAS, July 03 (Arab News): The death toll from Venezuela's twin earthquakes has risen to 2,595, Interim President Delcy Rodriguez said on Thursday, as rescue efforts increasingly shifted from finding survivors to recovering bodies from the rubble.
Rodriguez told a press conference there were no plans for mass graves despite thousands of people still reported missing following the June 24 disaster.
She said 189 buildings had completely collapsed in the earthquakes, which devastated large parts of the coastal state of La Guaira and left more than 11,000 people injured.
This aerial photograph taken on July 2, 2026 in Caraballeda in the state of La Guaira shows collapsed buildings following the June 24 twin earthquakes. (Pool photo / AFP)
International aid and reconstruction
Rodriguez said the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank had offered aid and credit to support Venezuela's recovery efforts.
She added that Venezuela was establishing a $200 million reconstruction fund with the IMF, with the money earmarked for contractors rebuilding homes destroyed by the earthquakes.
The interim president also said revenue from Venezuela's oil production, which is under US Treasury control following the ouster of former President Nicolas Maduro, would be made available for reconstruction and humanitarian assistance.
The United States has committed more than $300 million and deployed around 900 military personnel to support rescue and relief operations.
US chargé d'affaires John M. Barrett said the funds would be directed toward shelter, sanitation, health services and energy generation. In the hardest-hit areas of La Guaira, hopes of finding more survivors were fading nearly eight days after the twin quakes struck.
Venezuela earthquake death toll rises to 2,595 as rescue hopes fade
FE Team | Published: July 03, 2026 22:42:46
Venezuela earthquake death toll rises to 2,595 as rescue hopes fade
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