Venezuela defends earthquake response amid criticism over relief efforts
Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, defended her government's response to the devastating June 24 earthquakes, rejecting criticism that authorities were slow to respond during the first days of the disaster.
Speaking at an international press conference in Caracas alongside National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez and Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, Rodríguez said the government acted immediately after the twin earthquakes struck.
"We knew that we were facing a major natural catastrophe and that La Guaira, the state of La Guaira, had become a disaster zone. The first hours involved immediate response, with the deployment of 4,000 civilian and military personnel, which increased the following day and reached 14,000 personnel," she said.
Rodríguez also accused what she described as "media laboratories" of encouraging people to travel to the disaster zone, saying the influx complicated rescue operations.
"There are those who, humanly and rightly, went down to look for a relative, went down to look for a friend, went down to look for a worker, but media laboratories were activated, I have to say that responsibly," she said.
The acting president thanked countries for supporting Venezuela's relief efforts, including the United States, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Brazil, Spain and Israel.
She also announced an initial $200 million reconstruction fund and said the government was seeking to recover additional funds through discussions with the International Monetary Fund and the US State Department.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
