Six months after capture of Nicolás MaduroVenezuela deals with the devastating consequences of the earthquakes that caused at least 2,595 deaths and that have put on hold the process of institutional reforms and the path towards eventual elections.
The capture of President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, during a US military attack on Caracas and three surrounding regions on January 3 had opened a promising new chapter for a country caught in a prolonged political, economic and social crisis.
But now that same Venezuela is going through a national emergency that has left thousands of families in mourning and is struggling to heal the more than 12,000 injured.
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The oil country, with a deteriorated infrastructure after years of corruption, lack of maintenance and questionable management, today also has before it the colossal challenge of correcting the physical damage equivalent to 6.7 billion dollars, around 6% of the gross domestic product (GDP), according to preliminary estimates by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The Venezuelan Government estimates that more than 12,800 people were left without homes due to compromising damage and the collapse of numerous buildings, the vast majority in the coastal state of La Guaira, in the north of the country and adjacent to Caracas, the hardest hit by the earthquakes.
This is a catastrophe that tests not only the Government of the acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, who took office after Maduro’s capture, but also her new “friend and partner”, the United States, and the plan established by the Donald Trump Administration for Venezuela, especially the second of the three phases: recovery.
According to Washington, his plan “remains intact.”
In the previous six months and under the magnifying glass of the White House, Delcy Rodríguez promoted the opening of sectors such as oil, mining and electricity to private and foreign investment, progressively dismantled Maduro’s cabinet and renewed the military high command.
The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro (d), during his transfer to a New York court with his wife, Cilia Flores (i), this January 5, 2026. Photo: EFE/Stringer
The Chavista leader also promoted an amnesty and hundreds of releases of political prisoners and announced a process to reform the criminal justice system and another to restructure the Government.
The week before the earthquakes, the US had taken a step focused on the third and final stage of its plan: the transition, with the sending to Caracas of the opposition Dinorah Figuera to begin talks with Chavismo, leaving aside the Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, who has insisted that she has “the responsibility of directing” a negotiation with the Rodríguez Government.
The conversations between the president of Parliament and brother of the head of state, Jorge Rodríguez, and Figuera added to the process of institutional renewal, since, according to this opponent, one of the main objectives is to form a “vigorous, credible and transparent” National Electoral Council (CNE), currently controlled by Chavismo.
Figuera had announced that they had to “deliver the product of their work in December 2026,” which today seems blurry, as all attention is focused on the tragedy, which also coincides with the expiration of the interim term.
According to the Constitution, the temporary absence of the president will be made up for by the executive vice president for 90 days, extendable for 90 more, for a total of 180 days, if Parliament so decides, which in the end did not discuss it.
In any case, this July 4th those 180 days will be completed, so now the Parliament, controlled by Chavismo, should decide whether or not there is an absolute absence.
If absolute failure is declared, a “universal, direct and secret election must be held within the following thirty consecutive days,” and in the meantime, Delcy Rodríguez would continue to lead the Executive.
However, on the same day of Maduro’s capture, the Supreme Court had declared that the Chavista’s absence occurred in an “exceptional, atypical situation and one of force majeure not literally provided for in the Constitution.”
Therefore, he ordered that Rodríguez assume the Presidency in charge, without this implying “deciding in substance on the definitive legal classification of the presidential fault (temporary or absolute) or substituting the powers of other State bodies to carry out said classification” later.
The emergency has also accelerated a process of opening Venezuela to the world that had already begun with economic reforms for the arrival of foreign investors.
Rescuers and volunteers search for possible victims in Caraballeda, La Guaira state, Venezuela, on June 28, 2026, after the two earthquakes. (Photo by Mauricio Valenzuela / AFP).
/ MAURICIO VALENZUELA
In recent days, Caracas has approached countries adverse to the Chavista Government, such as El Salvador, Ecuador, Chile, Panama, Argentina, Guyana and Israel, which have supported Venezuela in the tragedy.
The monumental international solidarity has translated into the sending of humanitarian aid and rescue teams and health personnel.
The Trump Administration assures that it “remains committed to supporting those affected and working with partners to help families reunite, provide assistance, and bring hope where it is needed most.”
Furthermore, it insists that its response “continues to grow, with hundreds of people, humanitarian assistance and specialized capabilities that are supporting rescue and aid efforts.”
The opening after the double earthquake is also seen in the greater number of foreign media that are now in the country and which previously found it difficult to enter due to visa procedures.
The truth is that, if before there was no certainty about the country’s political future, there is less now, as attention to the victims and the search for solutions for the thousands of homeless families due to one of the greatest catastrophes in the history of Venezuela are now prioritized on the agenda.
