Caracas/The president in charge of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, said this Wednesday that she sent a letter to British King Charles III requesting the release of the gold “retained” in the Bank of England, in order to use those resources in the response to the tragedy caused by the recent earthquakes that left at least 3,811 dead.
“That gold belongs to our people and that gold must be there to address the terrible and tragic consequences of this double earthquake,” he said in a broadcast on the state channel Venezolana de Televisión (VTV).
The president again demanded the cessation of sanctions against Venezuela and the blockade of resources that, she said, the country needs for the reconstruction process and “comprehensive recovery in employment, work and education.”
In that sense, Rodríguez reported a call on Tuesday with the director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, for the release of “blocked resources from Venezuela that are” in that institution. “Venezuela has resources with which to recover and with which to get up,” he added. There have also been conversations, he said, with Brazil, the US and the World Bank.
Rodríguez reported a call on Tuesday with the director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, for the release of “blocked resources from Venezuela that are” in that institution.
Despite the recent relief of sanctions by the United States, structural restrictions persist and funds and assets of the Venezuelan State abroad remain frozen or under control, such as gold reserves worth about $2 billion deposited in the Bank of England or assets of Citgo, a subsidiary of PDVSA in the United States.
In the same space, Rodríguez called on national and foreign companies for an “aggressive and rapid” construction of homes. The president assured that they are already locating, with a group of soil and subsoil experts, the spaces where they plan to “build new homes and anti-seismic cities.”
Rodríguez assured that he will soon show the country the schedule of the execution plan for these constructions.
The Venezuelan Government’s plan, supported by the UN, is to bring prefabricated housing to the country to solve the housing problem caused by the double earthquake, said the UN Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, in an interview with EFE.
In Playa Grande, one of the areas most devastated by the earthquakes of June 24, the undersecretary assured that the UN system is already “raising money” for its implementation.
In addition, Fletcher said that sanctions on Venezuela must be made more flexible so that they do not affect the arrival of aid and recovery plans after the catastrophe.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) preliminarily estimated direct physical damage at $6.7 billion. The Venezuelan Government estimates that 190 buildings have collapsed, mainly in the devastated region of La Guaira, bordering Caracas.
Rodríguez recently announced the creation of an initial fund with the equivalent of two hundred million dollars and an account at CAF, Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, for international donations.
Rodríguez also received yesterday the United States Undersecretary of Agriculture, Luke Lindberg, in order to “coordinate efforts to care” for those affected and review “the progress in the management of humanitarian assistance,” according to Caracas.
Rodríguez also received yesterday the Undersecretary of Agriculture of the United States, Luke Lindberg, in order to “coordinate efforts to care” for those affected.
The State Department reported this Wednesday that its country has allocated more than $386 million in humanitarian aid to date to care for those affected, which includes emergency medical care, food, drinking water, sanitation, temporary shelters, protection and logistical support for the victims.
Yesterday Rodríguez decorated rescuers from the European Union (EU) and the Mexican Army, Air Force and National Guard who participated in the rescue efforts.
The president, accompanied by the Minister of the Interior and Justice, Diosdado Cabello, and the Venezuelan Foreign Minister, Yván Gil, presented the Heroes of Venezuela medal to the experts.
The bitter side was the recovery of the body of Lucas Gámez, a nine-year-old boy who was wanted, among the rubble of a building in La Guaira, the devastated region, as confirmed to EFE by the Argentine Foreign Ministry.
Gámez, son of Venezuelan parents but born in Argentina, was found by a group of Brazilian rescuers who were working in the area where the building in which he was located collapsed.
In Caraballeda, La Guaira, only three businesses have resumed activity after the double earthquake: a bakery, a chicken shop and Alexander Pérez’s grocery store, according to this merchant who has lost another store that he had in ground zero of the earthquakes.
The National Council of Commerce and Services (Consecomercio) warns that there is no real census of businesses affected by the earthquakes, but estimates that more than 250 small and medium-sized businesses in La Guaira were affected, either due to total or partial loss.
