In brief
After two powerful earthquakes rattled Venezuela, a Jordanian rescue team recovered a 3‑year‑old boy alive from La Guaira rubble six days later. The child, named Klieber Morán, received first aid and was taken to a hospital in Caracas. Despite a death toll of nearly 2,000, more than 10,000 injured, and thousands of missing, rescue crews continue their search across the heavily damaged region.
A Jordanian rescue team pulled a 3‑year‑old boy, Klieber Morán, alive from rubble in the La Guaira state six days after the twin earthquakes that devastated Venezuela last week.
Video footage shows rescuers cheering as the child is lifted from wreckage, while government officials describe his rescue as a sign of hope in the wake of the disaster.
Delcy Rodríguez called the moment “a beacon of optimism.” The boy was given first‑aid, taken to a hospital in Caracas, where physicians have confirmed that his vital signs are stable.
The two quakes, registering magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, have already taken at least 1,943 lives and injured over 10,000 people, according to official figures. Tens of thousands remain missing, and the impact on infrastructure is severe, with satellite data pointing to 58,870 buildings damaged or destroyed.
Jorge Rodríguez said the rescue demonstrates that survivors can still be found, and urged that domestic and international teams keep working through the rubble. Shelters had already opened in La Guaira and surrounding areas.
International aid has begun arriving. A UN‑maintained 47‑tonne shipment supplied emergency health kits, safe‑birth materials and disease‑prevention supplies to Venezuelan relief agencies.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees emphasized that food shortages, broken services and power outages are widespread, and that community tensions are rising as assistance remains scarce. The agency has requested an initial $15 million to broaden protection, relief, and temporary shelter for 30,000 people over six months.
The World Health Organization warned that the strain on health services could spark outbreaks of vaccine‑preventable diseases such as measles and diphtheria due to low vaccination coverage.
Beyond the rescue, many Venezuelans are burying the dead discovered so far, while others wait anxiously for the remains of loved ones. At a makeshift morgue on La Guaira’s port, families are trying to identify bodies and face the emotional toll of the catastrophe.
Related stories: angry Venezuelans accuse government of negligence over earthquake response; a mother rescued from rubble with her newborn; how rescuers use dogs, drones, and sound detectors to find survivors.
