The death toll from the earthquakes that devastated the Venezuela on Wednesday (24) it reached 920, said this Friday (26) the regime of the country’s interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez. According to the most up-to-date report, the number of injured people exceeded 4,300.
The pace of updates has been irregular, and communications come from different regime authorities. In the first announcement after the earthquakes, authorities reported 32 deaths. The number was only revised on Thursday morning, to 164 deaths.
In the afternoon of the same day, the president of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Jorge Rodríguez, Delcy’s brother, said that there were 188 dead, a figure revised at night to 235. The most recent number of injured, in turn, was given by Minister Carlos Alvarado (Health) during an interview with local TV.
As rescuers work in the destroyed buildings, the number of victims is expected to continue to increase. In a statement, Delcy said that, to help respond to the disaster, the regime is “militarizing” the state of La Guaira, a coastal region that was hardest hit by the earthquakes, of magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5.
Hours later, the Minister of the Interior, Diosdado Cabello, announced that access to La Guaira is under restriction. Cabello, who was a close ally of deposed dictator Nicolás Maduro and supervised the repression apparatus of Chavismo. According to the announcement, the restriction aims to prioritize rescue operations, medical care and risk assessment.,
The minister also said that the decision responds to requests from residents of La Guaira and seeks to prevent the flow of people from hindering the work of rescue teams. According to him, volunteer motorcyclists will receive identification vests and will be assigned to specific roles. Only people with previously defined tasks will be able to enter the state.
The Venezuelan opposition shared websites created to register missing people —the number would be 56 thousand people with unknown whereabouts. According to an estimate by the UN humanitarian aid chief, there are more than 50 thousand missing.
The Brazilian government confirmed two Brazilian citizens among the dead, without going into details regarding their identities. Model Vanessa Zacarias da Silva, 44, is one of two victimsaccording to information shared by family members.
The government of Portugal said that nine citizens died and another 56 were missing. Also among the dead were two Chinese citizens and an Italian-Venezuelan. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of SpainJosé Manual Albares, said that three Spanish citizens died in the disaster and another 99 were missing.
The geological service of United States (USGS) estimated at least 10,000 deaths after the tremors — the number is part of a technical scale according to which there is a 42% chance that the total number of deaths will be between 10,000 and 100,000.
Teams ChileMexico, El Salvador and Switzerland They have also disembarked in the country with rescuers and supplies. The president Lula (PT) announced the sending of Brazilian Air Force (FAB) planes with humanitarian aid. The first took off from Guarulhos airport this Friday morning.
Members of the bodies of firemen of São PauloMinas Gerais and Paraná, in addition to specialists from Civil Defense and from Anatel (National Telecommunications Agency), according to a statement from FAB.
First responders have been working to rescue people trapped in rubble. Reuters news agency heard residents complain that official aid was slow to arrive in the most affected places.
“My 19-year-old son is trapped under the concrete, and there are no machines to get him out,” Yamileth Jimenez told the agency in the city of La Guaira, capital of the state of the same name. Suhayl Sarquiz says he has lost everything: “My building is destroyed and I have nothing left,” says the 50-year-old woman, who is unemployed.
Resident Beatriz Rodríguez said she lost a nephew, while another had to have his legs amputated.
According to the AFP news agency, residents of Caracas booed Delcy this Friday, during a visit by the interim leader to a devastated neighborhood. Those present reportedly said that the authorities are not doing anything for the people.
The Venezuelan regime confirmed that at least 250 buildings were damaged or destroyed, including eight hospitals and the Venezuelan embassy. France in Caracas. THE UN estimates that 7 million people, around 25% of Venezuela’s population, have been affected in some way by the disaster.
The Venezuelan Armed Forces are setting up field hospitals in the La Guaira region —as announced in an official statement— and will have the capacity to perform emergency surgeries. Also on Thursday, a Reuters team in the city saw a military convoy near the local stadium carrying out humanitarian aid operations.
Two five-star hotels in the region were among the structures that collapsed. Rescue teams and volunteers climbed the mountains of rubble of what were once towers of up to 15 floors to look for any victims. The main road that borders La Guaira has broken in several places and is impassable in some of them. The region’s international airport, the country’s main airport, was also closed due to damage to its infrastructure.
