Venezuela's Rodriguez Defends Earthquake Response Amid Growing Criticism and Civilian-Led Rescue Efforts
By Julia Symmes Cobb, Mayela Armas and Alberto Fajardo
CARACAS/CATIA LA MAR/LA GUAIRA, Venezuela, July 2 (Reuters) – Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday pushed back against days of criticism over her government's handling of the devastating twin earthquakes that struck on June 24, killing more than 2,000 people and leveling buildings across the northern state of La Guaira.
In her first press conference since taking office in January, after the United States recognized her as the country's legitimate leader and ousted predecessor Nicolás Maduro, Rodriguez said the government acted immediately. “We did not wait one, two or three days. We acted immediately,” she told reporters, defending the official response as swift and organized despite widespread accounts of delays in aid and heavy equipment.
The 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude quakes left a trail of destruction that overwhelmed local infrastructure, particularly in the coastal state of La Guaira, where entire neighborhoods and a massive public housing project collapsed. Civilians, volunteer paramedics, foreign rescue teams from El Salvador, Chile, the United States, Portugal, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Venezuela have descended on the disaster zones, often taking the lead in digging through rubble with little more than hand tools.
“It was a natural tragedy on a scale we never imagined, even though we knew that a seismic event could occur in our country,” Rodriguez said, adding that 4,000 officials were deployed immediately, rising to 14,000 the next day and then to a current figure of 19,000. She also announced an emergency decree to activate protocols and a $200 million reconstruction fund with the IMF, alongside offers of aid and credit from the World Bank.
However, the gap between official numbers and on-the-ground realities remains stark. The death toll now stands at 2,595, according to Rodriguez, but the U.S. Geological Survey has estimated more than 10,000 deaths were possible. An unofficial online list tracking missing persons had dropped to about 38,500 by Thursday evening, after peaking at nearly 60,000 in the days after the quakes.
Rodriguez lashed out at what she called “media laboratories” for creating a perception of chaos, accusing them of political motivations. “The first media narrative developed in these media labs was: 'everyone head to La Guaira,' to create chaos and impede search-and-rescue operations,” she said, without providing evidence.
On the ground, the response has been overwhelmingly civilian-led, according to Reuters witnesses. People have spent days trying to dig out loved ones with their hands, shovels, and pickaxes, assisted by firefighters, civil protection corps, foreign teams, student doctors and nurses, and even veterinarians. Soldiers working alongside civilians at collapsed towers in a major public housing project told Reuters they had volunteered to help there.
The Venezuelan government has faced criticism not only for the pace of its response but also for the lack of heavy machinery needed to move debris amid ongoing search operations. International aid organizations have pointed to delayed food and medical supplies. At the same time, security forces patrolling collapsed buildings have sparked anger, with unverified videos circulating on social media showing some officials looting clothes, appliances, and cash. The Interior Ministry confirmed that four crime scene police officials have been detained for “appropriating financial assets acquired amid the ruins.”
Despite the chaos, moments of survival offer glimmers of hope. Security guard Hernan Alberto Gil was rescued from the rubble of a shopping center early Thursday after days of work by rescue teams. Mexican teams pulled a dog named Sarita alive from a collapsed building, reuniting her with an owner who said the rescue gave him hope his missing daughter might be found alive.
In the Vargas municipality, a hospital serving the disaster zone reported easing patient flow compared to the immediate aftermath. A Brazilian Navy field hospital set up near the beach had treated 180 people by Thursday, with an intensive care unit and operating theater. Doctors also converted a McDonald's restaurant into a makeshift health center, treating about 200 patients a day with donated medicines.
The crisis unfolds against the backdrop of Venezuela's deep political and economic turmoil, a factor that many analysts say has exacerbated the government's capacity to respond effectively. The country has been grappling with hyperinflation, shortages of basic goods, and a fractured political landscape since Maduro was ousted by the U.S. in January, leaving Rodriguez's interim government with limited resources and contested legitimacy both at home and abroad.
Rodriguez said the government was not yet ending its search and rescue efforts. “We've done everything in our power, and we'll continue to do everything in our power and more,” she said, describing visiting children in hospitals who had lost limbs. “I've had to go through some very painful experiences.”
(Reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb in Caracas, Alberto Fajardo in Catia La Mar and Mayela Armas in La Guaira; additional reporting by Vivian Sequera, Deisy Buitrago, Iñigo Alexander, Marianna Parraga and Jennifery Rigby; Writing by Cassandra Garrison and Daina Beth Solomon; editing by Deepa Babington, Rod Nickel and Stephen Coates)