Caracas, Venezuela – Mairet Perez stood by the roadside waiting for a bus back to Caracas, scrolling through her phone and pointing at colleagues, friends and relatives in her home state of La Guaira. “They’re all gone,” she said, her lips trembling. Beneath the crushed concrete lie the bodies of many of them. Dozens more remain missing – or are dead.
The death toll from the twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela on Wednesday evening is approaching 1,500, with roughly 50,000 people registered as missing on a community mobilization website.
On the long road from the Colombian border, loaded with supplies for survivors, Perez received a call – bad news. The father of her daughter, his wife and their nine-year-old son had been found. They did not survive. “Everyone in La Guaira is groping around, searching and digging with their bare hands. And the government? What have they done? Nothing!” Perez said. She reported that there were still areas the government had not reached.
If the initial mood in Venezuela after the earthquake was panic and grief, disappointment and anger are now rising over the authorities' response. For interim President Delcy Rodriguez, the disaster is the biggest challenge since she took office. As the death toll climbs and rescue efforts continue, she is under mounting pressure to show that her government can coordinate an effective response.
In the hours after the quakes, Rodriguez declared a state of emergency, offered condolences to those who lost loved ones and called for international aid. But what followed, according to many observers, was a slow and uneven rescue response. “The government's response ranged from nonexistent to, at best, completely inadequate,” said Phil Gunson, senior analyst for Venezuela at the International Crisis Group.
He explained that over the past decade, Venezuela's economic crisis – stemming from poor management, corruption and sanctions – has severely weakened the emergency response system and public services for health, water and electricity. “Now they lack budget, personnel, equipment, leadership and planning.” International relief and rescue teams have filled the gap. More than 20 teams have arrived, including from El Salvador, Spain, Qatar and the United States. But Gunson argued that is not enough to confer legitimacy on the Rodriguez government during the crisis. “Even with US support, the government has failed to demonstrate effectiveness in disaster response.”
