Venezuela quakes: Delcy Rodríguez defends response as criticism grows
Delcy Rodríguez forcefully defended Venezuela's earthquake response and disputed casualty claims. Her remarks underscored mounting scrutiny over rescue delays, building collapses and political legitimacy.
Venezuela's US-backed acting President Delcy Rodrguez on Thursday strongly defended her government's handling of last week's devastating earthquakes, rejecting criticism that the response was slow and denying claims that the real death toll is far higher than the official count. She also pushed back against accusations that poorly built social housing worsened the destruction.
The disaster has become the biggest test yet for Rodrguez, whose self-described socialist government has been seeking legitimacy since the United States removed former president Nicols Maduro from power in January. Her remarks came as residents, rescuers and experts continued to raise concerns over delays in search efforts, equipment shortages and the collapse of housing projects in some of the worst-hit areas.
At a late-night press conference for foreign journalists in Caracas, Rodrguez, wearing a black ribbon in mourning, refused to accept the criticism. "We did not wait one day, two days or three days. We activated immediately," she said, accusing some media outlets of spreading misinformation. "To politicise a humanitarian tragedy like this - when the Venezuelan government and its authorities have spared no effort, public, private, national, or international - is disgraceful." Authorities had counted at least 2,295 deaths as of Wednesday, a figure expected to rise, but gave no updated toll on Thursday. The government has also kept tight control over public communication and relief efforts.
In the hardest-hit state of La Guaira, residents have said the first response was slow and disorganised, leaving them to search for neighbours and relatives with their bare hands. Rescuers have also spoken of a shortage of specialised equipment. Rodrguez acknowledged that "naturally, at the sites where the building collapsed, the first people to arrive were survivors of the collapse itself, relatives and neighbours". But she rejected what she called "narratives manufactured in propaganda laboratories" and said that by the day after the quakes, "We had already mobilized the full capacity of the Venezuelan state together with the private sector."
As hopes of finding more survivors faded, rescue operations increasingly shifted to recovering bodies. The smell of decomposition hung over streets lined with flattened buildings, while in the port city of Catia La Mar, officials moved through the area carrying body bags and stacking wooden coffins. A rare moment of relief came with the rescue of 43-year-old security guard Hernn Alberto Gil Flores, who was found alive after nearly eight days under the rubble of a collapsed mall. Trapped in an air pocket, he survived on food and water passed to him through gaps in the concrete, and national broadcasters repeatedly showed the moment he was pulled out on a stretcher as crowds cheered.
Questions over the true scale of the disaster have also grown. More than 38,000 reports of missing people, many of them likely buried under rubble, have been submitted to a website set up by the Venezuelan opposition, as the government has not released an official figure for the missing. When asked about the still-unknown toll and reports that the United Nations is procuring 10,000 body bags, Rodrguez defended the official numbers. "We do not want to speculate," she said. "The numbers we provide are rigorously verified."
The collapse of several of Hugo Chvez's signature social housing projects in La Guaira has fuelled doubts about construction standards. Experts have warned that substandard building work may have left neighbourhoods vulnerable to earthquakes. Rodrguez rejected the charge, saying about 80 per cent of the collapsed buildings were privately developed, though she did not provide evidence.
The crisis has also unfolded against political uncertainty. Rodrguez's comments came a day before the extension of her 180-day mandate as acting leader was due to expire, and it remained unclear what would happen after Friday. Under Venezuela's constitution, temporary absences are to be filled by the vice president for up to 90 days, with the National Assembly able to extend that by another 90 days. The Assembly, which is controlled by Rodrguez's party, can also call a snap election if lawmakers declare the post permanently vacant.
Unlike the aftermath of Venezuela's 1999 landslides, when then-president Chvez rejected offers of help from the US, Rodrguez has publicly welcomed aid and rescue teams from governments across the political spectrum, including the Trump administration and its regional allies. She specifically thanked Israel, which has no diplomatic relations with Venezuela, and praised President Donald Trump and Secretary State of Marco Rubio, saying they "remained constantly attentive and offered support". Washington has backed Rodrguez as it seeks to open Venezuela's energy industry and has largely distanced itself from opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mara Corina Machado, who said this week that Rodrguez's government was blocking her return to the country.
The US has committed more than USD 300 million and deployed around 900 military personnel for rescue operations. John M. Barrett, the US charg d'affaires to Venezuela, also said revenue from Venezuelan oil production, controlled by the US Treasury since Maduro's seizure, would be made available for relief work. That pledge has sharpened calls for greater transparency over US management of Venezuelan oil sales. "Venezuelans really need that money to be used for the protection of Venezuelans," said Laura Cristina Dib of the Washington Office on Latin America. Overall, Rodrguez defended her government's response even as the official death toll stood at 2,295, criticism over delays and construction failures continued, and international aid and political questions shaped the wider fallout from the earthquakes.
With PTI Inputs
Venezuela's US-backed acting President Delcy Rodrguez on Thursday strongly defended her government's handling of last week's devastating earthquakes, rejecting criticism that the response was slow and denying claims that the real death toll is far higher than the official count. She also pushed back against accusations that poorly built social housing worsened the destruction.
The disaster has become the biggest test yet for Rodrguez, whose self-described socialist government has been seeking legitimacy since the United States removed former president Nicols Maduro from power in January. Her remarks came as residents, rescuers and experts continued to raise concerns over delays in search efforts, equipment shortages and the collapse of housing projects in some of the worst-hit areas.
At a late-night press conference for foreign journalists in Caracas, Rodrguez, wearing a black ribbon in mourning, refused to accept the criticism. "We did not wait one day, two days or three days. We activated immediately," she said, accusing some media outlets of spreading misinformation. "To politicise a humanitarian tragedy like this - when the Venezuelan government and its authorities have spared no effort, public, private, national, or international - is disgraceful." Authorities had counted at least 2,295 deaths as of Wednesday, a figure expected to rise, but gave no updated toll on Thursday. The government has also kept tight control over public communication and relief efforts.
In the hardest-hit state of La Guaira, residents have said the first response was slow and disorganised, leaving them to search for neighbours and relatives with their bare hands. Rescuers have also spoken of a shortage of specialised equipment. Rodrguez acknowledged that "naturally, at the sites where the building collapsed, the first people to arrive were survivors of the collapse itself, relatives and neighbours". But she rejected what she called "narratives manufactured in propaganda laboratories" and said that by the day after the quakes, "We had already mobilized the full capacity of the Venezuelan state together with the private sector."
As hopes of finding more survivors faded, rescue operations increasingly shifted to recovering bodies. The smell of decomposition hung over streets lined with flattened buildings, while in the port city of Catia La Mar, officials moved through the area carrying body bags and stacking wooden coffins. A rare moment of relief came with the rescue of 43-year-old security guard Hernn Alberto Gil Flores, who was found alive after nearly eight days under the rubble of a collapsed mall. Trapped in an air pocket, he survived on food and water passed to him through gaps in the concrete, and national broadcasters repeatedly showed the moment he was pulled out on a stretcher as crowds cheered.
Questions over the true scale of the disaster have also grown. More than 38,000 reports of missing people, many of them likely buried under rubble, have been submitted to a website set up by the Venezuelan opposition, as the government has not released an official figure for the missing. When asked about the still-unknown toll and reports that the United Nations is procuring 10,000 body bags, Rodrguez defended the official numbers. "We do not want to speculate," she said. "The numbers we provide are rigorously verified."
The collapse of several of Hugo Chvez's signature social housing projects in La Guaira has fuelled doubts about construction standards. Experts have warned that substandard building work may have left neighbourhoods vulnerable to earthquakes. Rodrguez rejected the charge, saying about 80 per cent of the collapsed buildings were privately developed, though she did not provide evidence.
The crisis has also unfolded against political uncertainty. Rodrguez's comments came a day before the extension of her 180-day mandate as acting leader was due to expire, and it remained unclear what would happen after Friday. Under Venezuela's constitution, temporary absences are to be filled by the vice president for up to 90 days, with the National Assembly able to extend that by another 90 days. The Assembly, which is controlled by Rodrguez's party, can also call a snap election if lawmakers declare the post permanently vacant.
Unlike the aftermath of Venezuela's 1999 landslides, when then-president Chvez rejected offers of help from the US, Rodrguez has publicly welcomed aid and rescue teams from governments across the political spectrum, including the Trump administration and its regional allies. She specifically thanked Israel, which has no diplomatic relations with Venezuela, and praised President Donald Trump and Secretary State of Marco Rubio, saying they "remained constantly attentive and offered support". Washington has backed Rodrguez as it seeks to open Venezuela's energy industry and has largely distanced itself from opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Mara Corina Machado, who said this week that Rodrguez's government was blocking her return to the country.
The US has committed more than USD 300 million and deployed around 900 military personnel for rescue operations. John M. Barrett, the US charg d'affaires to Venezuela, also said revenue from Venezuelan oil production, controlled by the US Treasury since Maduro's seizure, would be made available for relief work. That pledge has sharpened calls for greater transparency over US management of Venezuelan oil sales. "Venezuelans really need that money to be used for the protection of Venezuelans," said Laura Cristina Dib of the Washington Office on Latin America. Overall, Rodrguez defended her government's response even as the official death toll stood at 2,295, criticism over delays and construction failures continued, and international aid and political questions shaped the wider fallout from the earthquakes.
With PTI Inputs
