Anger mounts over uneven government response after Venezuela quakes

EL JUNQUITO, Venezuela - Frustration is rising across Venezuela over a lack of aid and coordinated government response in areas struck by deadly twin earthquakes on June 24, residents in some hard-hit towns said on June 29.

In El Junquito, a small mountainous region about 33km west of Caracas where Venezuelans often vacation on weekends, residents say they have seen few public officials, while farmers and other residents have been providing basic supplies to the community.

“We are waiting for answers, for debris to be cleaned up, for inspections, for people who have been really affected to be helped,” said Keily Ibarra, a 33-year-old manicurist leading citizen complaints to authorities.

She called on the government to do “what needs to be done.”

El Junquito’s commercial centre was largely destroyed by the quakes, with collapsed buildings visible during a Reuters visit.

Several residents with nowhere else to go have set up tents in an open field, despite the risk posed by damaged and collapsed buildings nearby.

“We don’t know where we are going to be located or how long we are going to be here,” said Tony Abreu, the owner of a local candy store who has been living in a tent since the quakes because his home and business are not safe.

Elsewhere, a hotel near Maiquetia Airport where more than 140 people deported from the United States, including seven children, were staying while being processed by Venezuelan authorities, collapsed in the quakes, according to two families of deportees.

Most are believed to have been killed.

The government’s Return to the Homeland Grand Mission, which manages deportee processing, had shared videos online of the arrivals, including the children receiving toys, on June 24.

While several international aid and rescue groups have mobilised to Venezuela, most of the help has been focused in La Guaira, the hardest-hit state of a country long mired in a deep political and economic crisis.

The international community has rallied to help Venezuela deal with the disaster.

Authorities said the oil-rich South American country has received support from 30 nations, including 1,000 metric tons of supplies, more than 3,600 rescue and support workers as well as 118 search-and-rescue canines.

The death toll continued to rise.

Jorge Rodriguez, the acting president’s brother and president of the National Assembly, on June 29 put the number of confirmed dead at 1,719, with 5,034 injured and 15,866 left homeless.

Power outages on June 29 have prevented a refinery, a petrochemical complex and other industrial plants in the country’s central region from restarting, industry sources said.

Despite those issues, state-run oil company PDVSA was not expecting any domestic fuel shortages as output from refineries in the country’s eastern and western regions is capable of meeting demand, even after increased usage by the rescue teams, they said.

Oil output and exports remained normal, the sources said.

Caracas residents’ homes were rocked by an aftershock early on June 29, while rescue teams searched round-the-clock for a fifth day.

The 4.6-magnitude aftershock hit north of Caracas early on June 29 at a depth of 10km, according to the U.S. Geological Survey, but Rodriguez said no damage was immediately reported.

It was the latest of hundreds of aftershocks since June 24 that have rattled national and international teams conducting rescue efforts, each rescue sparking hope as the window to find survivors dwindles.

Among the seeming miracles was the rescue of 21-year-old Aaron Levi from a collapsed building in the disaster-stricken state of La Guaira, pulled out after 106 hours trapped under the rubble through a rescue operation that lasted 43 hours, according to Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodriguez.

After announcing the updated death toll, Assembly President Rodriguez said 15 shelters had been set up in La Guaira as well as 50 provisional camps to help people affected by the quakes.

He applauded Venezuelans for their calm and strength, blaming any anger against the government on misinformation.

“Do not pay attention to rumors, do not let yourselves be led by manipulation strategies on social networks or by media manipulation that seek nothing but to increase unrest and anxiety,” Rodriguez said.

“Official information is the only one that truly has the truth to share with you.”

A senior US administration official said three US citizens are known to have died and 12 are missing since the earthquakes, and that a State Department task force has fielded more than 300 inquiries from Americans seeking advice.

A second official said they estimate there are approximately 5,000 US citizens in Venezuela. REUTERS