The United States steps up aid to Venezuela after earthquakes leave more than 1,700 dead

On Monday, the United States helped restore operations at the port of La Guaira, located in one of the areas hardest hit by the two earthquakes that struck Venezuela, in an effort to speed the arrival of aid as the country begins to lay its dead to rest.

U.S. Marines have restored the port to operation, through which equipment and supplies for relief efforts will arrive following the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes that struck the country on June 24 less than a minute apart, according to AFP.

The latest official toll reports more than 1,700 dead and 5,000 injured, though it does not include a figure for the missing, estimated to be in the tens of thousands.

The two earthquakes are considered among the strongest and most devastating quakes recorded in Latin America in recent times. Five days after the tragedy, rescue workers and volunteers continue to clear mountains of rubble in the hope of finding survivors, a possibility that is dwindling with each passing hour.

On Monday, another earthquake with a magnitude of 4.6 was recorded, reigniting fear among the population.

According to a preliminary assessment based on satellite data published by the U.S. space agency NASA, the earthquakes damaged or destroyed more than 58,000 buildings. The estimate, prepared by researchers Corey Scher and Jamon Van Den Hoek of Oregon State University, indicates that approximately 58,870 buildings were damaged or destroyed in the affected region based on satellite radar images captured on June 25, one day after the earthquakes.