The Diplomat
At least 50 Spaniards have died in the Venezuelan earthquake, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares announced on Tuesday, July 21. This is the first update from the Ministry since July 13, when 41 deaths were reported.
“Unfortunately, today the number of Spanish compatriots who have died has risen to 50,” Albares stated during his address at the colloquium “Ibero-America, a Way of Being and Existing in the World,” part of the summer course “Spain in the World 2026” at the Menéndez Pelayo International University, held at the Magdalena Palace in Santander.
In subsequent statements to the media, the minister clarified that the death toll “continues to rise” and that, at present, 139 people remain missing. The latest tally to date was from July 13, when 41 deaths, 139 missing persons, and eleven people located under the rubble were reported. Given that the number of missing persons remains the same, it is likely that the increase in the death toll will come from those trapped.
The double earthquake, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 on the Richter scale, has already caused more than 5,000 deaths, according to the latest official figures announced on July 17 by the president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez. In addition, it is estimated that between 40,000 and 50,000 people are missing, according to various sources, some of them linked to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The government is avoiding acknowledging this figure.
“Much has been said about the number of missing persons, which we are supposedly hiding,” but “we cannot operate based on speculation but rather on reality,” Jorge Rodríguez declared on July 11 at a press conference.
