Faced with the scale of the disaster, which leaves more than 50,000 people missing, the country is engaged in a race against time on the logistical and humanitarian levels.
Nearly 48 hours after the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude tremors, the most powerful recorded in the country since 1900, despair and anger are growing among the population. In La Guaira, a coastal town near Caracas reduced to dust, survivors search through the rubble with their bare hands and denounce the authorities’ slow response to the emergency.
The government also reports nearly 3,000 injured, while the UN fears a considerably higher final toll due to the hundreds of people still trapped under the collapsed structures.
International aid began to be deployed on Friday to lend a hand to local rescuers. More than 870 specialists from 17 countries are already operational, said Mr. Rodriguez.
The tragedy takes on an increasing international dimension as the identity of the victims is revealed, the authorities having confirmed the deaths of several foreign nationals.
Interim President Delcy Rodriguez declared La Guaira a “disaster zone” and ordered its total militarization to stem looting, while opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado called for the release of all political, civil and military prisoners on humanitarian grounds.
