Delcy Rodríguez lashes out at criticism for her management after the earthquakes in Venezuela and attacks the press: "media laboratories to sow chaos"

The acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, has responded harshly to criticism over the management of the double earthquake that struck the north of the country on June 24. In a press conference with international media, the president called the accusations of slowness in the official response “miserable” and blamed “media laboratories” for trying to sow chaos in the midst of the emergency.

The official toll now stands at 2,595 dead and 12,400 injured, in the most serious seismic tragedy suffered by Venezuela in the last century. The earthquakes, of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, especially affected La Guaira, Caracas and other northern states of the country, with collapsed buildings, thousands of displaced people and a number of missing people that is still not closed.

Rodríguez denied that the Government was slow to act. According to her version, the State activated the operation in the first hours, with 4,000 officials deployed during the first day and almost 20,000 civilian and military personnel currently working in rescue, security, aid distribution and debris removal.

Criticism for militarization and lack of resources

The appearance came after several days of complaints from residents, rescuers and humanitarian organizations about the lack of machinery, the slowness in some areas and the presence of military personnel controlling access while families searched for their missing loved ones among the rubble.

Delcy Rodríguez defended the militarization of La Guaira and assured that the restriction of access sought to prevent collapses, looting and false alarms. “Let someone say that access was denied, help was denied, let someone say there is none, no that does not exist,” she affirmed, before accusing political and media sectors of using the tragedy to attack the Government.

The president also rejected that the real death toll is being hidden. She said that the official number is updated with forensic criteria and asked for rigor when disseminating reports. She even assured that five people initially included among the deceased later appeared alive.

IMF funds and an international account for donations

Rodríguez also announced an initial fund of 200 million dollars for reconstruction, with resources linked to the International Monetary Fund, and an account at the CAF-Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean to receive international donations.

The Venezuelan Government also maintains contacts with the US Department of State, the World Bank, the IDB, and other organizations to mobilize aid. Reconstruction will be one of the great immediate challenges: authorities speak of 189 buildings totally destroyed, 855 damaged, and thousands of people without housing.

Amid the pressure, Rodríguez revealed that she is going through a “health condition,” although she did not give details. “I have a very deep internal pain and a broken voice,” she admitted. Even so, she assured that she would turn that situation into work “morning, afternoon, night, and dawn” for Venezuela.

The acting president has visited after the criticism Hernán Gil, the watchman rescued alive after spending eight days under the rubble. “Today I embraced a miracle,” she wrote on social media, thanking the work of the Red Cross and international rescue teams.

The emergency remains open. Aftershocks continue, search efforts are maintained in several areas, and thousands of families are still waiting for news of their missing loved ones while the Government tries to contain criticism for a response that a good part of those affected considers insufficient.