Earthquakes in Venezuela

920 confirmed dead in Venezuela – expected to continue to rise

The death toll from the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela is rising, reports the AP.

According to the speaker Jorge Rodriguez, 920 people have now been confirmed dead, almost double the number reported earlier on Friday.

The death toll is expected to rise even more in the coming days. Nearly 50,000 people have been reported missing.

Nearly 50,000 missing: “I want to know where my child is”

Nearly 50,000 people have been reported missing after the twin earthquakes in Venezuela, several media outlets report, referring to a website where relatives can search for loved ones.

Desperate relatives are digging through the rubble for their missing family members. Dayana Delgado, a mother of three, searching for her eight-year-old son, wonders where the government's promised help is and why only she and her neighbors are searching through the rubble.

"I want to know where my child is," she tells the AP.

Shock and grief are taking hold on the streets of Venezuela. A mother in Caracas collapses as her children's bodies are wrapped in blankets and carried away. 

Analysis: The quake will be Rodriguez's first major challenge – and opportunity

How Delcy Rodriguez and her government handle the aftermath of the earthquakes will be a test of the regime's legitimacy and ability. Both Reuters and Bloomberg write this in their analyses.

"The competition for relief efforts shows how disaster relief is a major political battleground in Venezuela," writes Bloomberg in an unsigned analysis.

The Venezuelan regime has quickly turned the mobile app Venapp, which was created to report regime critics, into an emergency platform for reporting missing relatives or destroyed infrastructure.

According to it, 157 people are missing – while the opposition's parallel platform, used by those who distrust the government, lists 58,000 missing.

If the government manages to take advantage of the international aid that is pouring in and get an effective reconstruction underway, it could create national unity, Cassandra Garrison and Stephen Eisenhammer write for Reuters:

"The project could define Rodriguez's political future." 

Reactions to the earthquake in Venezuela
Friends and enemies assist Venezuela: “Help, everyone who can”

Venezuelans in Miami, Bogotá and around the world are collecting supplies for those affected by the earthquakes via social media.

"So painful to see what is happening, help everyone who can," writes artist Silvana Estrada on X and posts a link to the collection "I love Venezuela".

Several countries are also sending emergency aid, including the United States, which abducted then-President Nicolás Maduro in January and has held him captive ever since.

"We are already flying in search and rescue units," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters, according to CNN.

He also promises to assist in the reconstruction of the infrastructure later.

War-torn Iran, whose negotiations with the US have just stalled, has also promised to participate in the rescue efforts, Australian ABC reports.

The Dominican Republic, Colombia, Mexico and several European countries are also contributing emergency aid, according to TT and international media.