Chaotic rush to help victims delays some rescues

EDITORS NOTE: EDS: SUBS top to update and revise, PICKUP at “Many feared that time ...”; other minor edits; SUBS headline and byline.); (ART ADV: With photos.); (With: VENEZ-QUAKES-ECON, VENEZ-QUAKE-VOLUNTEERS, VENEZ-QUAKES-SCENE, VENEZ-RESCUE-TRAFFIC, VENEZ-OPPOSITION

Convoys of civilian vehicles carrying relief supplies and volunteers to the Venezuelan state hit hardest by twin earthquakes earlier this week have clogged the only highway into the devastated area, obstructing the advance of ambulances and emergency responders.

The outpouring of unsanctioned aid brought traffic on the crucial artery to a virtual standstill Saturday. Among those stranded on the congested road were many of the hundreds of rescue workers from around the world who had joined the chaotic race to help survivors, along with civilians rushing shovels and water to the disaster zone by motorbike and medical teams riding in pickup trucks.

They all faced the same grim reality: Nearly three days had elapsed since the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes, and the search for survivors trapped under the rubble had turned desperate across much of the region.

Many of the calls made by rescue workers, searching for buried survivors, were being met by silence in the ruins of cities and towns across the state, La Guaira. Residents have reported looting, and more than 400 aftershocks have rolled through the region since Wednesday. The death toll rose on Saturday to 1,430 people, according to Jorge Rodríguez, the leader of Venezuela’s National Assembly, and thousands more are injured.

Rodríguez, the brother of Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, said Saturday that the government would allow only authorized personnel into La Guaira. But large groups of civilians -- many expressing anger at the disaster response by authorities -- still crowded the roads to bring what food, water and medical aid they could.

Many feared that time was running out. Aid groups say that the first 72 hours after a disaster are the most critical for finding survivors.

“We don’t really know how many people are under the rubble,” the top U.N. official based in Venezuela, Gianluca Rampolla, said in an interview.

“The estimation we have at this point is that the number of collapsed buildings is 125,” he said, adding that such a figure would suggest many more deaths than the latest official figure.

The disaster has increased pressure on Delcy Rodríguez and on President Donald Trump, who helped bring her to power. After U.S. forces seized the country’s longtime dictator, Nicolás Maduro, he embraced her leadership while also saying he expected the United States could potentially “run” and “rebuild” Venezuela for years.

The United States intends to take a leading role in the response, a senior State Department official said on Saturday. Nearly 250 Americans have joined the efforts so far, he said, including teams from Virginia, California and Florida, and the United States has deployed a naval ship, the USS Fort Lauderdale, to provide medical support.

The official added that the U.S. military had repaired one of the runways at Venezuela’s main international airport, and that the State Department was working on a relief package to follow the $150 million in aid already announced.

Here’s what else we are covering:

-- Twelve hours with a team of doctors: On Friday, a team of doctors set out for La Guaira, the coastal state that had been hardest hit, with a mission to save lives. They found chaotic roads, armed men and silent, shattered ruins.

-- International aid: Dozens of countries have promised aid to Venezuela, including the United States, China, European nations and many of its South American neighbors.

-- Civilians self-organize: Thousands of Venezuelans have rushed toward the destruction, loading up pickups and motorbikes with food, water and medicine. “What can I do? Should I go? Should I take the risk?” said one, Jesús Pacheco. “I decided yes. I wanted to join the effort and contribute my little grain of sand.”

-- 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.

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

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Copyright 2026 The New York Times Company

This story was originally published June 27, 2026 at 11:23 AM.