Colombia’s earthquake is déjà vu for Venezuelans. The government response is anything but

Franklin Fuentes searches for missing relatives in the collapsed building where they lived two days after earthquakes struck La Guaira, Venezuela, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos, File) BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — For the second time in two months, the ground was shaking in South America. Once again, families flooded social media with pleas for help finding missing loved ones under flattened buildings. Once again, governments across political divides and continents pledged aid . But in many ways, the contrast between Colombia’s 7.4-magnitude earthquake on Monday and Venezuela’s back-to-back temblors on June 24 could not have been more stark. In Venezuela, acting President Delcy Rodríguez waited nearly four hours before addressing the nation.

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Scoop News DeskColombia · Published Friday, August 14, 2026 at 2:15 AM UTCUpdated Saturday, August 15, 2026 at 4:52 AM UTC

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A building damaged during the earthquakes is marked with “S.O.S.” painted stands in La Guaira, Venezuela, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix, File) Later, when Rodríguez gave the government’s initial casualty toll, she reported just 32 dead, a count that didn’t include the epicenter of La Guaira , site of the worst destruction. The government’s national toll of at least 265 dead and 500 missing lags far behind counts from local authorities, while an independent database lists over 4,100 as unaccounted for. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga) Even before the earthquake, the political novice was navigating a fraught transition from predecessor Gustavo Petro , Colombia’s first leftist president, who at first refused to recognize de la Espriella’s narrow victory and alleged electoral fraud.

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