Guzmán had been missing for two days under the rubble. To anyone, he was just one more turtle amid the destruction left by the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that shook Venezuela on June 24, 2026. To his owner, a girl who had no intention of giving up, he was her best friend.
The firefighters knew it. That is why, in the middle of the emergency that hit La Guaira and Caracas hard, they devoted time to removing debris until they found him alive. When he finally appeared, the girl did not say a word: she just hugged him and showered him with kisses, as if he had come back from the dead.
🇻🇪 In the midst of the tragedy in Venezuela, a girl touched the rescuers’ hearts by staying there tirelessly for two days, insisting that they help her find her best friend: a morrocoy trapped among the rubble.
— freddyzur (@freddyzur) July 1, 2026
Finally, the firefighters managed to rescue him alive.… pic.twitter.com/NdH4UBunTR
A rescuer asked her if Guzmán was her pet, if they had saved him. She could only smile, clinging to his shell. The video, posted on social media on July 1, is now being replayed thousands of times because it reminds the world that even in the worst disaster, love finds a way to survive. 🐢💛