The first hours after the quakes revealed a troubling difference: ordinary residents were forced to fill gaps that public institutions should have covered.
In Venezuela, residents themselves cleared the rubble of the Los Cocos housing complex in La Guaira state, trying to pull survivors and the bodies of the dead from beneath the debris. In Colombia, after high-rise buildings collapsed in Cali, numerous government agencies quickly joined the effort and organized a search-and-rescue operation.
Two powerful earthquakes that struck Venezuela and Colombia several weeks apart highlighted a significant difference in the countries’ ability to respond to large-scale disasters. Volunteers played a key role in both countries during the first hours, but the subsequent coordination of efforts differed.
At the end of June, Venezuela was hit by two earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude. The coastal state of La Guaira was the hardest hit. The death toll in the country now stands at 6,300.
The earthquake in Colombia, which had a similar magnitude and was also felt in neighboring countries, claimed at least 285 lives. Another roughly 380 people were reported missing.
The devastating consequences depend not only on the strength of the tremors. In Venezuela, the death toll may have risen because of unstable soil and the earthquakes’ shallow depth. In Colombia, the tremors occurred deeper underground.
Venezuela has suffered for years from shortages, hyperinflation, and an exodus of skilled professionals. The country’s interim government places responsibility on sanctions imposed by the United States and other countries. Government critics, in turn, cite corruption, ineffective governance, and years of underinvestment in the oil industry.
Venezuela’s interim government rejects claims that there were problems with the response to the earthquakes’ aftermath.
We did not wait one, two, or three days. We acted immediately.
– Acting President Delcy Rodriguez
In early July, Delcy Rodriguez said that 4,000 officials were deployed on the first day after the disaster, with the number rising to 14,000 the following day. She also criticized what she called a “media narrative” portraying the authorities’ response as chaotic.
Rescue Efforts at Los Cocos
In La Guaira, most of the buildings in a large 1,100-apartment social housing complex named after late President Hugo Chavez collapsed as a result of the June earthquakes. Local residents, families of those affected, and some local officials spent weeks clearing the rubble by hand, using buckets, sticks, and other makeshift tools.
International rescue teams and a small number of Venezuelan federal officials arrived to help. Volunteers from other states brought generators, drinking water, food, and essential supplies. Local residents carried out the bodies of the dead on old mattresses and pieces of debris until one or two forensic specialists arrived at the site several days later with body bags.
Los Cocos residents demanded more heavy equipment and a more visible presence from government services. A month after the disaster, two cranes and other machinery for clearing debris were operating at the site.
Civil defense workers dug tunnels through six floors of rubble. When recovering decomposing remains, they had to use several body bags. The military provided assistance. One army sergeant said that some equipment was malfunctioning and that soldiers were going door to door among people still searching for relatives to determine who needed support.
How the Search Was Organized in Cali
The situation unfolded differently near Torres del Limonar, a five-story residential building in a quiet southern district of Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city.
In the first hours after the earthquake, neighbors and volunteers pulled around 20 people from the rubble. They were later joined by local firefighters and then by more than a dozen official agencies, including police, naval rescue personnel, and search teams from other cities.
Within two days, the area had been clearly organized. Volunteers were allowed to carry out only designated tasks to prevent overcrowding and ensure silence for rescuers searching for people who might still be trapped beneath the rubble. Debris was continuously removed by trucks, while two cranes operated above the collapsed site.
The removal of bodies was overseen by police officers, who used metal stretchers and specialized vehicles.
Humanitarian workers, some of whom had recently returned from Venezuela, praised the local coordination in Colombia. It made it possible to quickly deliver heavy equipment to many affected areas. At the same time, they expressed concern about the situation in remote parts of the country, particularly the Pacific province of Choco.
In Choco, Colombia’s poorest province, the earthquake claimed 13 lives. No missing persons were reported there. However, even before the disaster, the region faced serious humanitarian problems due to decades of government neglect and armed violence.
Political Consequences of the Earthquakes
Private security company Global Guardian, which helped relocate or support employees in the oil, gas, and financial sectors in both countries after the earthquakes, said it was much easier to operate in Colombia than in Venezuela.
The company’s senior intelligence analyst, Tomas Michael Carvallo, said that by the time his team arrived in Venezuela, there was no access to heavy equipment.
Much of the initial search-and-rescue work fell to civilians who were not actually equipped to move concrete and debris from collapsed buildings.
– Tomas Michael Carvallo
The earthquakes occurred during a period of important political changes for both countries. In Venezuela, rapprochement with the Trump administration began after Washington captured President Nicolas Maduro in January. The country is governed by Rodriguez, who previously served as Maduro’s vice president.
The top U.S. diplomat in Caracas did not directly comment on criticism of the Venezuelan authorities’ earthquake response. He only said that Venezuela had fulfilled the requests necessary to advance the humanitarian response.
For Colombia’s new right-wing president, Abelardo De La Espriella, the earthquake became his first major test. He was sworn in just three days before the disaster and promised to strengthen security measures and introduce stricter fiscal policies.
De La Espriella, who had previously criticized his predecessor for excessive spending, is now considering a 2027 budget exceeding $180 billion. At the same time, he promised emergency funding to thousands of people who lost their homes and businesses.
Tiziano Breda, senior analyst for Latin America and the Caribbean at ACLED, believes that an effective response could help De La Espriella strengthen support in regions that did not vote for him.
In Venezuela, ineffective local governance is further evidence of institutional decline.
– Tiziano Breda
Venezuelan authorities arrested four police officers on suspicion of looting after the earthquakes. Videos also circulated on social media showing local residents shouting at an official holding U.S. dollars found among the rubble. Another recording showed heavy machinery sitting idle because of a fuel shortage.
Breda noted that Venezuela’s interim government may have a better chance of advancing its years-long effort to recover about $4 billion in gold reserves held by the Bank of England. Caracas links those funds to reconstruction plans.
It will take many years for both countries to regain a sense of stability, especially for children. The emergency has only just begun.
– World Vision coordinator Mayerly Sanchez
The difference between rescue operations in Venezuela and Colombia showed how the speed of coordination, access to equipment, and the presence of government services affect the search for survivors in the first critical days after an earthquake.