The death toll from the twin earthquakes that struck northern Venezuela on 24 June has risen to at least 5,069, with reconstruction efforts now under way after the country secured hundreds of millions of dollars in international financing. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez, who has described the disaster as the "most brutal natural catastrophe" in Venezuela's history, announced that $346 million in previously frozen International Monetary Fund resources had been unlocked to support rebuilding. The figure is still considered provisional, and the UN estimated in the immediate aftermath of the disaster that the number of missing persons could reach 50,000.

The two earthquakes, measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, struck within 39 seconds of each other, devastating the northern coastal state of La Guaira — a popular seaside area close to the capital, Caracas. The Venezuelan parliament reported 856 damaged buildings, 190 of which collapsed entirely, along with widespread destruction of bridges and roads. More than 1,300 aftershocks have been recorded since the initial strikes. Around 20,000 people are now living in makeshift camps in stadiums, public squares and even on pavements, while aid organisations warn that some shelters lack safe drinking water and adequate sanitation, raising the risk of disease outbreaks. In total, an estimated 1.8 million people — including 680,000 children — are in need of humanitarian assistance.

In La Guaira, families and volunteers continue to search the rubble, often amid swarms of flies in the summer heat. Some have resorted to hiring private individuals known as "taupes" — people who, for fees of around $300 per body recovered, help families retrieve their dead from the debris. Rescue workers and relatives have criticised the government's limited presence in body recovery operations, with one volunteer describing the absence of basic equipment such as angle grinders. The government has said it is committed to dignified treatment of the dead, but critics say the response on the ground has fallen short.

The $346 million in IMF funds, previously frozen because the organisation did not recognise the legitimacy of former President Nicolás Maduro, will be directed toward housing, infrastructure and essential public services, according to Rodríguez. The IMF and World Bank had resumed relations with Venezuela in April, following a US military intervention in January that removed Maduro from power. The United States has separately provided more than $300 million in humanitarian assistance. Volunteers have also sought to provide comfort to the youngest survivors: aid workers made a giant cake for some 3,000 displaced children, a small gesture of normalcy amid an enormous human crisis.