Venezuelans are grappling with a stark question: after years of economic and political strife and now devastating twin earthquakes, can their country recover, or are the cracks just too deep?
Rescue teams and neighbors are still searching for survivors as the scale of the disaster comes into sharper focus — more than 1,400 are dead and thousands more remain missing.
“Some very tough days are coming,” said Caracas resident Neida Pernilla. Her apartment in the Venezuelan capital was destroyed in Wednesday’s 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that came within seconds of each other. But she says she is among the more fortunate — she and her relatives survived.
“I think we have to learn from everything we’re going through. That life is fleeting — just a moment. We have to thank God, the Virgin Mary, whatever we have faith in, for the fact that we’re alive, and we need to be more human, more cooperative, more humble.”
The quakes have hit the rich and the poor, millions of people, especially in the north of the country. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez told Venezuelans they were not alone . But decades of economic mismanagement have made it harder for the government to respond to the natural disaster on top of the long-running humanitarian crisis.
Residents have turned to taking essential supplies from stores in the port city of La Guaira, among the worst-hit areas.
Food and clean water have become scarce in the city, which is only about 20 miles from the capital but is largely isolated now because of collapsed roadways and damaged bridges.
“It’s been us, the families, trying to dig through debris to find our relatives,” said Mileidy Duque, 43. “My 82-year-old mother, my brother, my daughter and her boyfriend are still missing.”
Her family lived on the second floor of the Luisa Caceres de Arismendi building, government housing that was inaugurated by ousted President Nicolás Maduro in 2015.
“This situation is so sad, not just for me, but for all of Venezuela. I have no words to explain how it feels to fear that your family is trapped in there,” Duque told CNN. “I feel like my hands are tied, it’s very difficult.”
Lindomar Milla’s sister and brother-in-law are among the known dead from the Playa Los Cocos neighborhood in La Guaira.
“I’m heartbroken, but I thank God that I know where they are,” Milla told CNN, sitting outside the morgue in Caracas where their remains had been taken. “There are families from all over the country who still don’t know if their relatives are dead or alive. It’s so painful.”
Many in La Guaira remember a previous tragedy, when the city was hit by massive landslides after torrential rain in December 1999. An official death toll was never published, but researchers at the Central University of Venezuela estimated nearly 15,000 people died.
“This was much worse than the mudslides,” Milla said. “So many people are still looking for their loved ones. There are people who traveled to La Guaira and found buildings that no longer exist.”
Hundreds of aftershocks have rattled buildings and nerves, as the seconds ticked away in the so-called 72-hour golden window, when it is most likely to find victims alive in the rubble.
Cheers ring out when survivors are rescued – moments of relief, even joy, and an emotional release from the grief and tension that feel palpable in the streets.
But so many are still missing. As days pass and the tropical heat hits impacted areas, many have resorted to wearing face masks to shield themselves from the smell of death and decay.
“I have been feeling so much pain and uncertainty,” said Susana Henríquez, standing behind yellow tape keeping her and others from what is left of the Petunia residential complex in the upper-middle-class Palos Grandes neighborhood of the capital. Two towers had risen from tree-lined roads behind gates that secured the community. Henríquez escaped from her home in Petunia II. The other tower collapsed.
“We want to trust that our neighbors in the Petunia I will be rescued alive,” Henríquez told CNN.
She’s a reminder of the humanity and the full lives of all those trapped and missing. More than numbers, they are friends and relatives whose names are known. “I have so many friends there,” Henríquez said, fighting back tears.
Many families here are used to living with little. Food costs more than most can earn, even working multiple jobs, and economic crisis combined with a repressive government has driven millions of Venezuelans to seek better lives, in neighboring Colombia or further afield like in the United States, sending money back when then can.
Now Venezuelans are coming together to gather water, medicine, food and clothes for those affected by the quakes.
Mariana Sanchez, a 20-year-old student, was walking through Caracas with a bag of supplies for anyone in need.
How to help those affected by the earthquakes in Venezuela
“A group of us friends decided to get together and begin collecting food and other materials to bring to people who have been impacted. I’ve seen several other university groups coming together like this,” she said. “People are very appreciative. It’s in times like these when Venezuelans come together and help lift each other up, it’s very inspiring.”
Collection sites have also been set up in cities with large Venezuelan populations, like Miami, New York and Madrid.
“No matter how many years pass since I left Venezuela, I will always feel it when the country is hurting,” Miami resident Marcos Mirabal told CNN at a donation drive. “I brought diapers, flashlights, clothes. My daughters have so much clothing and there are so many children in the country who are suffering right now.”
Some of those not consumed by simply surviving are asking if the response could have been quicker if Venezuela had stronger emergency services with better equipment, or had invested more in hardening its infrastructure against a known risk.
“It’s unbelievable that this is 2026 and this country is still operating this way,” Gustavo Quintero told CNN. “We’re having to find the names of our loved ones on hand-written sheets of paper; firefighters don’t have the necessary resources to help people. There aren’t the minimum logistics.”
Venezuela has been troubled for decades but for people like 18-year-old law student Miguel Martínez, the focus right now is on the immediate question of whether his classmate can be brought out alive. Maybe then, a better future will come into focus.
“We never give up,” Martínez told CNN. “We’ve already been through so much and when things get tough all we can do is lift each other up.”
CNN’s Osmary Hernández and journalist Camille Rodríguez Montilla reported from Caracas and La Guaira, Venezuela. Ana María Mejía contributed from Miami. Flora Charner wrote and reported in College Station, Texas.
