The Venezuelan government still hasn’t updated the official number of missing people after the June earthquakes

Although the Venezuelan government has continued to provide figures on deaths and injuries following the earthquakes on June 24, it still hasn’t released an official and updated number of missing people, which has raised questions from victims’ families and human rights organizations.

According to international agencies, the most recent official update was shared on August 3 by the President of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, through his Telegram channel. According to that report, the number of deaths rose to 6,125 people, while around 61,000 people have received hospital care since the emergency occurred.

The report also indicates that the authorities have removed 16.5% of the debris generated by the earthquakes, without providing information on how many people remain missing or on the progress of search efforts in that regard.  

The lack of updated data on the missing has been criticized by relatives and organizations, who consider it essential to have public and transparent information to understand the scale of the tragedy and the status of search operations.  

Amid these criticisms, interim president Delcy Rodríguez has defended the government’s response against claims pointing to delays in the arrival of military and emergency personnel, as well as inadequate attention to people who remained trapped under the debris after the quakes.