Venezuela Live Updates: Rescuers Work as Window Narrows to Find Quake Survivors

Current time inCaracas, Venezuela9:22 a.m. June 27 Latest PinnedJonathan WolfeIsayen Herrera and María Victoria FermínHere’s the latest.

Rescuers worked under floodlights early Saturday in the desperate effort to find survivors of the devastating earthquakes in northern Venezuela, as the death toll rose to 920 and thousands of injured people overwhelmed hospitals.Anguished survivors streamed to medical facilities in Caracas and the nearby state of La Guaira in search of loved ones, and makeshift wards were set up in streets and hospital parking lots. At one hospital in Caracas, itself damaged by the quakes, the smell of decomposing bodies permeated the air.

The chaotic scenes laid bare the extent to which Venezuela’s government was unprepared for the disaster. Rescue efforts were entering a pivotal period on Saturday, the latter part of a 72-hour period humanitarian organizations consider critical for finding survivors.“Today is the crucial, crucial day,” Tom Fletcher, the U.

N.’s humanitarian chief, told BBC radio on Saturday morning. “We are driven on, minute by minute, hour by hour, by the sound of the survivors underneath the rubble.”

Officials say the two quakes on Wednesday evening, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, caused hundreds of building to collapse, with the heaviest devastation in coastal areas north of Caracas.

Venezuelan authorities said Friday evening that they were restricting access to the state of La Guaira, where much of the destruction took place, saying that traffic was obstructing rescue efforts. Officials asked Venezuelans to stay away from the state and said anyone who wanted to enter would have to register with the authorities, but provided few details on who would be given authorization.Still, the highway to La Guaira was clogged on Friday with cars and motorcycles bringing shovels and other items to aid in the search.

People in the hardest-hit areas said they had received little help from the government. Survivors in some areas clawed through the brick and concrete of collapsed buildings with their bare hands, hushing each other to listen for whispers of life under the ruins.The sluggish response by a state struggling to emerge from a decade-long economic depression has increased pressure on President Delcy Rodríguez and on President Trump, who embraced her as Venezuela’s leader after U.

S. forces seized the country’s longtime dictator, Nicolás Maduro.On Friday evening, Ms.

Rodríguez said on social media that she had spoken by phone with Mr. Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio and that they had “reaffirmed” the backing of the United States.Here’s what else we are covering:International aid: Dozens of countries have promised aid to Venezuela, including the United States, China, European nations and many of its South American neighbors.

Read more ›Buckling hospitals: The region’s hospitals and makeshift medical centers were a portrait of suffering, the masses of injured and dead laying bear a woefully underequipped system. Read more ›U.S.

relations: President Trump’s vision of a closer relationship with Venezuela is being tested by the disaster, in which the U.S. has offered substantial help.

Read more ›Show moreJune 27, 2026, 8:48 a.m. ETJonathan WolfePresident Delcy Rodríguez said early Saturday morning on state television that more than 14,000 police and military officers were patrolling the state of La Guaira to guarantee the security of relief efforts.

She said that a rescue delegation from Italy had just arrived, and that around 10 more countries would join the rescue efforts by the end of the day. She added that workers had restored 60 percent of electricity service in La Guaira.June 27, 2026, 8:05 a.

m. ETJonathan WolfeOfficials from U.S.

Southern Command, which manages military operations in Latin America and the Caribbean, met with President Delcy Rodríguez on Friday to coordinate relief efforts in Venezuela, the command said in a post on social media. “America stands with the people of Venezuela,” the post said. It added that the Defense Department was “rapidly surging critical capabilities” to support relief efforts, at Venezuela’s request.

America stands with the people of Venezuela.Today, #SOUTHCOM’s Maj. Gen.

Kevin J. Jarrard and Chargé d’Affaires John M. Barrett met with President Delcy Rodríguez and other senior leaders to coordinate relief efforts in Venezuela.

At the request of Venezuela, and in support of… pic.twitter.

com/T5Tec3d0Cg— U.S. Southern Command (@Southcom) June 26, 2026 The Trail of Devastation Along the Venezuelan CoastBuildings collapsed across the coastal region of La Guaira, north of Caracas, after Wednesday’s twin quakes, an analysis shows.

June 27, 2026, 12:08 a.m. ETFrancesca RegaladoBreaking news reporterSatellite imagery has become a crucial part of disaster relief efforts in recent decades, and is part of the international response to the earthquakes in Venezuela too.

Such imagery can help identify damage, locate vulnerable people and coordin