Earthquakes

Venezuela Earthquakes: Man Pulled Alive From Rubble After 8 Days

Is this a triumph of global solidarity or a reminder that Caracas prevented others from being saved?

JUL 2·Updated JUL 3

Man Rescued After 8 Days in Venezuela Quake Rubble

Story

Above: Rescue workers assists quakes survivor in Catia La Mar, La Guaira state, Venezuela on July 2, 2026. Image credit: Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images

The Facts

Hernán Alberto Gil Flores, a security guard in his 40s, was pulled alive from the collapsed basement of the Galerías Playa Grande in Catia La Mar, in the coastal state of La Guaira, on Thursday, more than a week after twin earthquakes struck Venezuela.
FOX News
Reuters
The Associated Press
According to rescue workers, Gil had been trapped in a small security booth made of concrete in the basement of a parking lot adjacent to the shopping mall that acted as a shell around him, helping him to survive without injuries.
BBC News
EFE Noticias
Voz
Search-and-rescue teams from Venezuela, the U.S., Costa Rica, El Salvador, Mexico and Portugal, under the leadership of Chilean firefighters, worked around the clock through aftershocks, torrential rain and unstable rubble for three days, after being alerted on Sunday that someone might still be alive there.
CBS News
CNN
FOX News
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele had been posting updates on the operation on social media, including a video in which a rescue worker asked Gil if he needed anything and he politely told her not to worry about it.
The Times (UK)
The Miami Herald
Nayib Bukele on X
The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude earthquakes that struck less than a minute apart have left at least 2,295 people dead and injured more than 11,000, with tens of thousands reported missing. Preliminary satellite data analysis suggests roughly 60,000 buildings may have been damaged or destroyed.
guardian
Reuters
Al Jazeera
Voz
Meanwhile, four Venezuelan police officers have been arrested after being accused of taking a safe full of dollars from the ruins of a collapsed building in Urimare, La Guaira state. Venezuela’s Scientific, Penal, and Criminalistic Investigation Service Corps said they have been referred for "immediate dismissal."
Breitbart
guardian
Newsweek

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The Spin

Pro-government narrative

This rescue proves what's possible when nations unite for a common cause. Rescuers from Venezuela and half a dozen other countries worked over 120 hours straight to pull Flores out alive. That kind of multinational coordination is a testament to human solidarity at its finest, and that no one will be left behind.

Delcy Rodríguez on Telegram

Miraflores Al Momento on X

Government-critical narrative

International rescue teams are to be praised for this rescue, not Venezuela's interim government, as Caracas has prioritized narrative control over saving lives. Search-and-rescue workers have faced blocked roads, bribery demands, bureaucratic obstruction and outright denial of entry while thousands remained missing.