Jorge Rodríguez: 315 people killed by earthquakes remain unidentified

Published at: 11/07/2026 02:11 PM

The president of the General Staff for the Creation of Transitional Camps, Jorge Rodríguez, reported that 315 deceased people remain unidentified, equivalent to 7% of the total number of confirmed victims after the earthquakes of June 24.

Rodríguez recalled that on June 25, he appeared before the media to provide the number of dead people with official certification, reiterating that the State only works with verifiable data and not with speculation.

He explained that the 315 unidentified people correspond to cases in which visual recognition or association using fingerprints was not possible in the Saime. He indicated that each body had a photographic record of the teeth taken, a fingerprint when possible and a skin sample for DNA analysis, in order to ensure identification when family members come.

The President of the General Staff pointed out that the disinformation generated during the days following the seismic event directly affected the rescue operation and the emotional health of the population. He mentioned that rumors about an alleged tsunami led people to move to mountainous areas, while irresponsible calls from social networks urged them to move massively to La Guaira, which congested roads and delayed the access of emergency equipment. He added that the dissemination of falsehoods about missing children, trafficking in persons, necrophilia or mass graves made it necessary to allocate operational time to verify non-existent facts.

He reiterated that unidentified bodies are kept in La Guaira and that they will be handed over to their families as soon as the correspondence is confirmed through forensic records. He stressed that this process is continuous and that each case has complete documentation to guarantee burial or accompaniment in mourning.

Rodríguez called for avoiding the political use of tragedy and stressed that, although various national and international actors have collaborated and contributed efforts, there are also sectors that have disseminated calculations and narratives that harm emergency care. He reaffirmed that this is not a time for confrontation and called for respect for the victims and for the work of the rescue teams.

Mazo News Team