A video recorded amidst the rubble of La Guaira became one of the most emotional testimonies of the catastrophe unfolding in Venezuela: a man rescued his wife trapped after the earthquakes on June 24, armed only with a hammer, while both argued, scolded each other, and declared their love at the same time.
The images, shared on social media and replicated by many, show the man breaking down walls and removing debris to free Adriana from inside a building damaged by the earthquakes of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 that shook the northern part of the country with barely 39 seconds in between.
The moment that captivated thousands of users occurs when she, with a trembling voice, warns him that the wall could collapse on him. He doesn’t stop: "Adriana, I know what I’m doing, my life," he responds with a firmness that went viral. At one point, he can be heard insisting, "Don’t take my breath away. I’m closer to you than you think," and then, while she doubts his methods: "Adriana, I’m up here, baby. I’ve got everything under control. Cover your face." One user who shared the video on X accurately described it: "There was fighting, scolding, love, concern, hard work; everything happened in this rescue."
The video, recorded during the emergency, shows something beyond a rescue: it reveals the instinct to hold onto the one you love, even when everything around threatens to collapse. Adriana, from the other side of the wall, warned him with a trembling voice to be careful, that the structure could fall on both of them. He didn't stop. Each blow was a promise that he wouldn’t leave her there.
The rescue took place in La Guaira, the coastal city neighboring Caracas that suffered the greatest destruction following the earthquakes on June 24th. In that area, 855 buildings were damaged: 189 had total collapse and 666 had partial collapse or severe damage, according to official figures.
The story of Adriana and her husband adds to a series of rescues that have touched the region amidst the tragedy: a 10-month-old baby and an 11-year-old boy were pulled alive from the rubble days ago, and on Tuesday it was reported the rescue of another minor after five days trapped.
While these survival stories circulate on social media, the official death toll continues to rise. The president of the Venezuelan National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez,
Independent estimates are even more alarming: the United States Geological Survey assigns a 42% probability that the total number of deceased will be between 10,000 and 100,000, while the UN estimates up to 50,000 missing persons, and the citizen platform Encuéntralos recorded between 55,000 and 60,000 individuals unaccounted for, with only about 9,000 found.
Among the missing are at least thirty Cubans concentrated in the areas of Caraballeda, Catia La Mar, and Los Corales in La Guaira.
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