De-escalation: International rescue teams withdraw from Venezuela

On July 6, international rescue teams began packing up and leaving Venezuela as heavy excavators moved in to clear quake debris, and families in La Guaira started recovering relatives’ bodies themselves. Venezuelan officials have shifted focus to cleanup and rebuilding.

In Caraballeda, La Guaira, Victor Colivert said, “I’m going with him,” as he stayed with the body of his nephew Oswall after it was pulled from the rubble. Families are guarding and retrieving the dead at sites where formal recovery has ended.

Updated official figures put the death toll at nearly 3,000 after the twin earthquakes, as international teams wind down operations. The transition from search-and-rescue to debris removal is underway across affected zones.

The quakes struck on June 24 in back-to-back shocks that pummeled Venezuela’s northern coast, with La Guaira identified as the hardest-hit state. With services overwhelmed, families have rushed to identify bodies at makeshift morgues, where some remains have been placed outside or in tents for identification.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources