The La Esperanza cemetery in La Guaira has excavated roughly 500 new burial plots and reserved about 150 graves for unidentified victims after powerful twin earthquakes. Satellite imagery shows more than 20 rows of fresh trenches capable of holding multiple caskets. Local officials say unidentified bodies are buried in individually coded graves on lettered terraces to make future identification easier, while families continue to await news about missing relatives.
La Esperanza Cemetery Expands Graves to Bury Hundreds After Devastating Earthquakes; Many Victims Unidentified
Satellite image shows rows of trenches excavated at La Esperanza cemetery on July 6, 2026, in La Guaira, Venezuela. - Vantor
In the mountains of Venezuela's La Guaira state, workers at La Esperanza cemetery have dug hundreds of new trenches to bury victims of the powerful twin earthquakes nearly two weeks after the disaster, while many of the bodies remain unidentified.
CNN journalists observed heavy machinery operating at La Esperanza, with staff in blue protective clothing moving coffins into the ground and preparing additional burial plots. Satellite imagery from spatial-intelligence firm Vantor shows more than 20 rows of freshly excavated trenches, each wide enough to hold multiple caskets side by side.
A drone view of coffins on the day of the burial of earthquake victims, in the aftermath of the June 24 earthquakes, at La Esperanza Cemetery, in La Guaira, Venezuela, on July 6. - Adriano Machado/Reuters
A cemetery employee told CNN the site has prepared roughly 500 new burial plots in response to the emergency and set aside an area of about 150 graves specifically for unidentified victims. Photos obtained by Reuters show some plots outlined with small stones; based on trench dimensions and those markers, CNN's analysis indicates hundreds of people may be interred there.
Organized Area For Unidentified Victims
Local officials and community leaders told Reuters that the section reserved for unidentified victims is carefully organized: each body receives an individual grave, separated by plots and labeled with a code. The graves are arranged on lettered terraces (A, B, C, D, F and G) and set off with white stones so they are distinguishable from older areas of the cemetery. Community leaders said this layout will make it easier for families to locate and identify loved ones later.
A general view of graves of earthquake victims, in the aftermath of the June 24 earthquakes, at La Esperanza Cemetery, in La Guaira, Venezuela, July 6, 2026. - Adriano Machado/Reuters
"They are buried in the designated area so that when the city begins pouring concrete, each mourner can come and identify their loved ones," said Nicolás Rivas, a member of the Chaparral Los Pinos community council.
Elis Zabala, a local community leader, added that the terraces have been in use only for a short time but appear orderly: "These terraces A, B, C, D, F and G have been in use for just a week. We can see that they are well organized, and the deceased are being given the dignified burial they all deserve."
The rows of new graves underscore the scale of the tragedy. The government reports at least 3,685 people killed, 16,740 injured and 17,907 displaced. Recovery operations continue across affected areas, and many families remain without information about missing relatives; the most recent official tally did not specify how many people are still unaccounted for.
On the day CNN visited, cemetery staff estimated that at least 80 bodies arrived by truck during the hours of observation. Police officers were seen guarding the cemetery entrance, and additional agents arrived as work continued. Reuters and CNN contributed reporting to this article. Michael Rios contributed to the report.
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