The event has become a symbol of hope for a country hit by two powerful earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, which, according to the latest official report, have left at least 2,295 dead and over 11,200 injured.
Hernán Gil was on duty in the basement of the Galerías Playa Grande shopping center in the town of Catia La Mar when the first earthquake struck on June 24. Although the concrete structure collapsed around him, his small security booth remained standing, acting as a protective shield and creating a vital air bubble.
The rescue operation was an extreme technical challenge that lasted over 100 hours since signs of life were detected last Sunday. A spokesperson for the Costa Rican Red Cross described the initial distressing situation: the guard was in "an underground passage in a security booth with 140 tons of debris on top." To keep him alive, the teams supplied him with water and nutrients through a narrow conduit while excavating a tunnel under conditions of great structural instability and persistent aftershocks.
The rescue was the result of a global effort coordinated by firefighters from Chile, involving around 100 specialists from Costa Rica, Mexico, the United States, Portugal, El Salvador, and Venezuela. During the operation, the rescuers maintained visual contact using a telescopic camera. At one of the most critical moments, Chilean firefighter María Paz Campos urged him to protect himself: "I need you to keep your goggles on because of the small particles falling, don't let any get in your eye that is already damaged." The emotional burden of the operation was immense.
Minyar Collado, a Costa Rican rescuer, revealed the psychological fragility of the trapped individual: "When we found him, he asked us not to tell his wife he was alive just in case he didn't make it." However, the team's determination was unbreakable, under the promise of: "We will never leave him here." Outside the building, his wife, Gusbimar González, awaited news from the day after the disaster.
After confirming the discovery of her husband, Gusbimar expressed her relief: "They were days of sadness, pain, and desperation because I couldn't find him, but when I found out he was alive, I saw a ray of light in the darkness." At the time of the extraction, emotions overflowed among those present. Amid applause and hugs, a Chilean rescuer shouted "Long live Venezuela" as they transported Gil on a stretcher to an ambulance. The guard, who is now the 13th person rescued alive by international groups, has been taken to a clinic in Caracas to treat his injuries.