Venezuela maintains uninterrupted search, rescue and victim recovery operations 12 days after the double earthquake, defying international protocol timelines that typically recommend suspending such efforts after 5 to 7 days.
The Venezuelan Government has pledged to continue the deployment as long as there remains the slightest possibility of finding survivors beneath collapsed structures.
The operations involve coordinated work between national and international rescue brigades who maintain their deployment despite the physical exhaustion inherent to the emergency. Beyond tired muscles and the weight of passing days, rescue workers are guided by solidarity and compassion as they navigate the affected zones.
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International rescue manuals, including the United Nations International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) Guidelines backed by General Assembly Resolution 57/150, suggest halting operations within a five to seven-day window following a disaster. This timeframe corresponds to the estimated closure of the so-called “biological window”, which scientifically assesses survival probabilities for trapped individuals without access to water or food.
Crucially, the UN framework clarifies that the multilateral body does not decree the end of search operations. Instead, it provides the technical, medical and logistical criteria for the local government to make the final decision. Venezuelan authorities has exercised that sovereign prerogative, choosing to extend the mission beyond the conventional threshold.
On July 2, Acting President of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez affirmed the state’s commitment, stating: “There is a mother crying, a father crying, a sister, a grandmother, a grandfather or an uncle suffering for that family member, and we will not rest.” She added that a specialized team has been deployed to determine whether there are living persons in a given location or whether remains must be recovered before any infrastructure process begins.
Photos: X/@mippci_ven
Nation United in Adversity
According to the official report issued this Monday, the seismic doublet has resulted in 3,535 fatalities, 16,740 injured and 6,462 citizens rescued. The Venezuelan Government reports comprehensive care for 86,794 families, 17,854 people left homeless, and structural damage affecting 856 buildings with 190 collapsed, all stemming from a seismic event that has generated 1,048 aftershocks to date.
Volunteers and ordinary citizens have joined the state apparatus, showing up at rescue sites to offer warm meals to exhausted brigadiers -a gesture of brotherhood that characterizes the Venezuelan people’s response to catastrophe.
The Government has deployed the Bolivarian National Armed Forces under Operation Venezuela Renace 2026 to support recovery efforts, while National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez has called for national unity to back the reconstruction process. The extended search mission demonstrates that in the darkest moments, human warmth and collective unity sustain the nation against overwhelming adversity, even when the clock says it is time to stop.
From teleSUR English via This RSS Feed.