Eleven days after twin earthquakes struck northern Venezuela, the confirmed death toll has climbed past 2,950, with tens of thousands of people still unaccounted for and rescue teams still pulling survivors from the rubble against increasingly long odds.
Venezuela's National Assembly president reported on 4 July that the disaster has left more than 16,000 people injured and over 16,000 homeless, while rescue teams have saved more than 6,400 survivors and nearly 900 aftershocks have been recorded since the original magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 quakes struck on 24 June. International rescuers from more than a dozen countries remain on the ground alongside Venezuelan teams, working through what has become one of the deadliest natural disasters the region has seen in years.
Amid the humanitarian effort, a political subplot has quietly unfolded. Two senior US officials told the Associated Press that the Trump administration has grown frustrated with opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and has actively discouraged her from returning to Venezuela after the earthquakes, with one official saying she had sought help travelling back from Curacao or Panama to take part in the recovery effort. Washington's position, according to the officials, is that it will not stop her from returning but is not willing to help facilitate it either, out of concern her presence could stir unrest at a moment when the government's focus needs to stay on relief.
The political tension is not one-sided either. Acting President Delcy Rodriguez has pushed back hard against criticism of her government's earthquake response, dismissing complaints as "narratives manufactured in propaganda laboratories" even as residents in hard-hit areas like La Guaira have described being left to search for survivors without official teams or heavy equipment for the first two days. With Rodriguez's 180 day interim mandate technically expiring and no clear word yet on what happens next, the disaster response and the country's political uncertainty are now tangled together in a way that makes neither one easy to resolve on its own.
My Opinion
What gets me here is how a natural disaster on this scale somehow still turns into a political chess match. Nearly 3,000 people dead and tens of thousands still missing, and Washington is spending energy managing an opposition leader's travel plans instead of purely focusing on aid. I do not know enough about Venezuela's internal politics to say who is right between Machado and Rodriguez, but the timing feels tone deaf regardless of which side you are on. People need help right now, not a power struggle layered on top of a tragedy.
If you or someone you know is affected by a disaster like this, please reach out to a trusted support service or someone close to you rather than carrying it alone.
Ronny M (ronny76netstuff@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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