After Venezuela quakes, citizens lead rescues amid military theft accusations

LA GUAIRA, Venezuela, July 1 - Most of the time, Alexander Delgado teaches physical education at a school in the central Venezuelan state of Aragua.

But for the past week, he's been running a rescue crew staffed by a rotating cast of neighbors and out-of-state volunteers tunneling into the rubble of a public housing development to search for survivors and victims of the back-to-back earthquakes that devastated a coastal state and parts of Venezuela’s capital.

Citizens like Delgado - often just with shovels, ropes and their bare hands - have been trying to supplement what they describe as a slow and inadequate state response to the country's strongest tremors in a century.

Among the challenges, they say, is thwarting efforts by some members of the Venezuelan military and police to block aid, co-opt donations and even loot from collapsed buildings.

Venezuela's Ministry of Communications, which handles media inquiries for the military and police, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Senior government officials have attributed growing civilian anger and reports of military personnel involvement in looting and slow aid to misinformation. They have urged the public to ignore "manipulation strategies on social networks" and rely on official information.

Delgado has no formal rescue training but learned first aid at work, and traveled to La Guaira, the hardest-hit state, a day after the tremors to lend a hand.

Venezuelan citizens like him and international rescue teams led rescue efforts, he said. “You see the firefighters, (Mexican rescue team) Los Topos, but you don't see the state per se."

His team has spent five days shifting rubble and listening intently for sounds of life under the hot Caribbean sun. They are supported by other local volunteers, who bring water, face masks, ice and knowledge about the eight-tower Hugo Chavez housing development, six of whose towers are now debris.

By Tuesday, six days in, there were two international rescue teams and some local firefighters, as well as one truck from Venezuela's forensic service, but they still lacked needed heavy equipment, he said.

That afternoon the crew uncovered the body of a woman, lying on her side with her back to them, between a floor slab and other debris. They halted work to await her removal by the forensic service.

'MAKING DO'

Backlash over the Venezuelan government’s response comes as acting President Delcy Rodriguez is trying to shore up her power following the ouster of her predecessor Nicolas Maduro in January.

“Delcy and company have been in charge for 26 years and they only have one script,” said Jimmy Story, U.S. ambassador to Venezuela until 2023. “They take credit for anything positive, push blame for anything negative and try to control the narrative.”

President Donald Trump has hailed the U.S. relationship with Rodriguez, and American companies have expressed interest in everything from oil to gold.

The U.S. Embassy's Charge d'Affaires John Barrett also vouched for Rodriguez’s handling of the disaster, telling Univision on Monday that he had “a great deal of confidence” in local authorities.

Volunteers on the ground, such as Mijaed Diaz - a veterinarian who joined other volunteers from a university - disagree.

"I would like more presence of public entities, who really are those responsible for this. But in the end we're used to making do with almost nothing," said Diaz, who clambered over the debris of two towers, seeking body bags for four people who had just been pulled from the rubble.

After initially thanking civilian volunteers, the government on Friday restricted public access to La Guaira, enraging people trying to help find survivors.

One government employee stationed at a checkpoint in La Guaira on Sunday told Reuters they witnessed police officers and military personnel commandeer aid from three trucks carrying supplies, bragging about what they had managed to “score.”

FRUSTRATION VENTED OVER SOCIAL MEDIA

They also saw the officers recording videos of themselves with shovels supposedly helping rescue efforts before abruptly leaving the scene, the person, who asked for anonymity over fear of reprisals, told Reuters.

Some Venezuelans have vented their frustration via social media, sharing videos showing security officials picking through the destruction and taking clothes, appliances and cash.

Reuters has not verified the videos’ authenticity, but four crime scene police officials have been detained and removed from their jobs and will be investigated for "appropriating financial assets acquired amid the ruins", the Interior Ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday, adding that police have generally been acting transparently.

Other videos show members of the Venezuelan military looking on while brandishing guns as local volunteers and foreign rescue teams rush to find survivors.

Still, some military and police members are actively helping efforts, according to residents.

One resident told Reuters she saw soldiers remove belongings from buildings at the request of residents, while police and firemen in Chacao, a well-to-do neighborhood in Caracas, have been working round-the-clock to handle humanitarian requests, according to Reuters witnesses.

Building on citizen-led search and rescue efforts, some Venezuelan non-profits whose work was strictly limited by 2024 government restrictions on civil society have publicly re-emerged to aid survivors.

'KNOCKING, AND NOTHING'

“We are operating and trying to show, once again, that our work is about supporting communities and not something for which we should be persecuted,” said Roberto Patino, founder of NGO Alimenta La Solidaridad, which runs community kitchens.

Since the disaster, the group has been focused on delivering food, medicines, equipment and Starlink internet antennas to the most affected communities.

The quakes have caused an estimated $6.7 billion in damage, the United Nations Development Programme said.

The U.S. has pledged $350 million, sent rescue teams and deployed the military to fix the airport, but some observers have pointed to billions of dollars from oil sales sitting in a U.S.-controlled account.

“While the response has been robust, it also calls into question the transparency over the oil fund,” said Story. “Will these funds be released for the disaster response?”

Miguel Poleo, part of Delgado's civilian rescue crew, came to Los Cocos right after the quakes, looking for his stepdaughter, her husband and their son.

"We told them two days ago that there are survivors, that they are knocking, and nothing," he said of the government. "They don't help anyone." REUTERS