Hundreds of working-class Venezuelans are dead and thousands injured following two powerful earthquakes that struck the Caracas region on Wednesday evening, with rescue efforts severely hampered by state-imposed communication blocks and a lack of official data. Government figures report 920 dead, 3,360 injured, and 172 people still trapped under debris. However, independent online registries document between 24,000 and 51,000 people missing, highlighting the systemic failure to provide accurate information to a desperate populace.
The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude quakes, among the strongest to hit Venezuela in over a century, caused widespread devastation in Caracas and La Guaira state. Rescue teams are struggling to reach those buried, and an urgent need for international assistance has been declared, underscoring the inadequacy of local resources.
Communication remains patchy across the affected areas, forcing ordinary Venezuelans to rely on social media platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, and X to seek information and resources. Relatives, both within and outside the country, are creating digital flyers with details of missing loved ones, attempting to organize information where the state has failed.
Jhoyser Concalves, from Catia La Mar, described running to his partner’s apartment building after the quake, only to find debris. He posted a “MISSING” flyer on X and Facebook in a desperate attempt to find his partner and her daughter, expressing hope that they were still alive.
The State's Priorities Exposed
The search for survivors and information has been severely complicated by the Venezuelan state’s prior actions. X and messaging app Signal were blocked in August 2024 by then-President Nicolás Maduro, an act of censorship intended to suppress communication among those who rejected his claim of victory in the presidential election. This deliberate restriction of communication channels has now directly hindered rescue efforts and the dissemination of critical information during a major disaster.
Former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez became the acting president in January, after the U.S. captured and removed Maduro from power. The U.N. human rights mission in Venezuela issued a statement on Thursday, calling on the government to lift local restrictions on social media, acknowledging that timely access to reliable information can save lives. Only after this international pressure were Venezuelans able to access X, a temporary concession that does not address the underlying state control over information.
Capital's Human Cost
The human cost extends beyond those directly impacted by the quakes. An estimated 8 million people have migrated from Venezuela in recent years, a mass displacement driven by the country's economic collapse and the systemic underdevelopment that serves capital accumulation elsewhere. These migrants now face immense difficulty checking on loved ones, relying on the same restricted social media platforms.
Elibel Tovar, 38, in Chile, has not heard from his 70-year-old father, who was in La Guaira for business. Tovar expressed feeling “powerless” and confused by the lack of information, a sentiment echoed by Vanesa Marcano, 31, in Madrid, who is searching for her uncle, aunt, and their visiting relatives. Marcano lamented the “feeling of impotence and uncertainty,” noting that from afar, “there is very little you can do,” highlighting the systemic barriers faced by the dispossessed.
The urgent need for international assistance underscores the deep structural vulnerabilities of a nation whose resources have been systematically drained or mismanaged, leaving its working class to bear the brunt of natural disasters with inadequate state support.