Venezuelan government denies slow response to earthquakes
Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, rejected on Thursday (2) allegations that her government had reacted too slowly to the destruction caused by two earthquakes that killed more than two thousand people, after days of widespread criticism of the official response.
Civilians of all backgrounds - including survivors, family members, volunteer rescuers and foreign rescue teams - have headed to the disaster-affected areas, especially the hardest-hit state of La Guaira since earthquakes of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 occurred on June 24.
Many of those working to clear the rubble, along with international aid organizations, say the government's response has been slow and ineffective, with delays in the delivery of items such as food and medical supplies, as well as a persistent lack of heavy machinery to remove the debris during ongoing search operations.
"It was a natural tragedy on a scale we never imagined, although we knew a seismic event could occur in our country," Rodriguez said in his first news conference since taking power in January, after the US ousted his predecessor, Nicolás Maduro. "We don't wait one, two or three days. We act immediately."
About four thousand agents were mobilized immediately, she said; the number rose to 14 thousand the following day and, subsequently, to the current number of 19 thousand. She also issued an emergency decree to trigger emergency protocols, she told reporters.
"We have done everything we can, and we will continue to do everything we can - and more," she said, adding that she visited children in hospitals who had lost limbs and were mourning the loss of loved ones.
"I had to go through very painful experiences," said Rodriguez.
Civilian-led response
State television has frequently shown footage of Rodriguez meeting with military and security officials, while soldiers and police patrol La Guaira's main thoroughfares and sometimes direct traffic.
Still, the response to the disaster has been led by civilians - many of them volunteers -, according to witness accounts from the Reuters news agency.
People have spent days trying to rescue loved ones using their bare hands, shovels and pickaxes, with the help of firefighters, civil defense teams, foreign rescue groups, medical and nursing students, civilians who usually serve as teachers and veterinarians and, occasionally, a soldier.
Soldiers who had been working for days alongside civilians in the rubble of six towers of a large housing complex in La Guaira told Reuters they had volunteered to help at the site.
Rodriguez reported that the death toll had reached 2,595 and that the government would not end search and rescue operations yet.
She did not disclose a number of missing people. An unofficial but widely used online list had about 38,500 names as of Thursday night, after reaching a peak of nearly 60,000 in the days after the earthquakes.
A United Nations representative said this week that it was providing 10,000 body bags for Venezuela, and the USGS (US Geological Survey) estimated the possibility of more than 10,000 deaths.
The interim president harshly criticized what she called "media labs" for creating a perception of chaos, saying such actions were politically motivated.
"The first media narrative created in these media laboratories was: 'everyone to La Guaira', to generate chaos and hinder search and rescue operations," she said, without offering explanations.
The IMF and World Bank have offered aid and credit for recovery efforts, Rodríguez said. Venezuela was creating a US$200 million reconstruction fund in partnership with the IMF, and the resources would be allocated to companies contracted and audited to rebuild homes.
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Source: CNN