Venezuela restricts La Guaira access as quake rescues continue

Venezuelan authorities are restricting access to devastated La Guaira as rescuers and residents race to find survivors three days after twin earthquakes collapsed homes and apartment buildings, killing hundreds and leaving thousands trapped.

The government announced Friday night that anyone seeking to enter La Guaira, the coastal region north of Caracas and the epicenter of the destruction, would need official permits. Officials said chaos and traffic were hampering search efforts, but gave few details about who would be allowed in.

Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said the government was mounting a full response during what she called the “critical hours for rescuing people alive” and welcomed international rescue teams and humanitarian aid. She said food and water were being distributed, La Guaira had been militarized and more help was on the way.

Many residents described a more desperate scene. Venezuelans have dug through rubble themselves, citing a shortage of government rescuers in some of the hardest-hit areas. In Chacao, a Caracas neighborhood where buildings collapsed, musician Zaira Castro told the BBC: “We’re all pretty frustrated because the government is not showing what it should — a serious display of help.” She added: “It’s actually us, the Venezuelans, who are helping each other.”

More than 200 people have been rescued so far, the government of Caracas said. About 51,000 people remain missing, though that figure likely includes people unable to contact relatives because of poor cellphone service, and some reports may be duplicates. The International Organization for Migration said up to 6.76 million people in Venezuela could be affected by the earthquakes, including about 2 million in Caracas.

Aid agencies say the first 48 to 72 hours after an earthquake are crucial for finding survivors alive, though people can survive longer if they have food and water. Those hours have now largely passed. Aftershocks have continued, including a magnitude 4.5 quake recorded Friday. Loyce Pace, the International Red Cross’ regional director for the Americas, said “people are still terrified to reenter what were their homes.”

In La Guaira, residents pleaded for heavy machinery to move concrete slabs. “My God, how are we going to get them out of there?” Nazareth Jimenez said as neighbors used hammers and power tools at a collapsed building where relatives and friends were believed to be trapped. “We’re making a call for help to the government and countries across the world,” she said. “There are still people alive in there.”

Omar Reyes said about 20 members of his family died. “I’ve been left alone in this life,” he said while walking through rubble where two of his children were buried.

The BBC reported that more than 100 buildings were flattened in the worst-hit areas, particularly La Guaira, and that hospitals along the northern coastline were at breaking point. From a hospital bed, Maria Vargas told AFP: “It was awful — so many people died, so many family members went missing. I lost my house completely, but we’re all right, thank God.”

International help is arriving. Venezuelan authorities said Friday that 861 volunteers from Mexico, the United States, El Salvador, Switzerland, Colombia and other countries were in Venezuela, with more expected. Rodríguez said she spoke with President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who reaffirmed U.S. commitments to send rescue teams and aid equipment. Rubio said U.S. resources included search-and-rescue teams from Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles, along with medical resources and humanitarian aid.

A U.S. official told The Associated Press that aid planes had begun landing at Simón Bolívar International Airport after one runway reopened Saturday. Another runway remained “completely cracked and inoperable.” The official said U.S. C-17 military transport planes had landed, mobile hospitals were expected and the USS Fort Lauderdale was positioned off the coast to support rescue flights around La Guaira.