Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez on Thursday strongly defended her government’s response to the twin earthquakes that devastated parts of the oil-rich country.
“We didn’t wait a day, two days or three days. We became active immediately,” Rodríguez told foreign journalists a week after the earthquake.
“Naturally, the first people to reach the sites where buildings collapsed were collapse survivors, relatives and neighbors,” he said.
The Rodriguez administration has been criticized for being slow and disorganized in its response to the disaster.
For example, the NGO International Rescue Committee said earlier this week that the scale of the response is not meeting humanitarian needs.
But the interim leader called the criticism “narratives manufactured in propaganda laboratories.”
“It is outrageous to politicize a human tragedy in this manner,” he said.
Death toll rises, thousands still missing
Rodriguez also said the death toll from the disaster had risen to 2,595, while more than 12,400 were injured.
He did not say how many people were still missing, but thousands were still missing.
Search and rescue efforts are still ongoing but hopes of finding more survivors have dimmed.
Relatives, rescue workers and volunteers have started concentrating on removing the dead.
Meanwhile, thousands of people are sleeping in crowded shelters or outside.
Doctors have warned that the situation could lead to the spread of infectious diseases, exacerbating an already serious medical crisis.
Aid is reaching Venezuela from IMF and World Bank
Rodriguez also said Thursday that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have agreed to provide financial support for recovery efforts.
Caracas is creating a $200 million (about €175 million) reconstruction fund with the IMF, he said, and the money will be given to contractors to rebuild lost homes.
Rodriguez also praised U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for their help, saying they “remained constantly attentive and offered support.”
The US has committed more than $300 million and deployed about 900 military personnel to assist in rescue and relief efforts.
Edited by: Rana Taha
Don’t let algorithms hide news. If you rely on our team for reliable reporting, please take a moment to choose us as your Preferred Source on Google by Clicking Here And press the “Star” or “Favorite” button, so you always see our verified news first.