Residents in some hard-hit towns in Venezuela say they have yet to receive government aid for rescue and recovery efforts following twin earthquakes last Wednesday, according to reports on Monday. In El Junquito, a mountainous region 33 kilometers west of Caracas, few public officials have been seen, and farmers and residents are providing basic supplies to the community.
Citizens Take Lead in Rescue and Relief
Keily Ibarra, a 33-year-old manicurist leading citizen complaints to authorities, said, "We are waiting for answers, for debris to be cleaned up, for inspections, for people who have been really affected to be helped." She called on the government to do "what needs to be done." The commercial center of El Junquito was largely destroyed, with collapsed buildings visible during a Reuters visit. Several residents with nowhere else to go have set up tents in an open field, despite the risk from damaged and collapsed buildings nearby.
Tony Abreu, owner of a local sweet shop, has been living in a tent since the quakes because his home and business are unsafe. "We don't know where we are going to be located or how long we are going to be here," he said. Unofficial reports indicate deaths after some houses and buildings collapsed in surrounding neighborhoods.
International Aid Focused on La Guaira
While international aid and rescue groups have mobilized to Venezuela, most help has focused on La Guaira, the hardest-hit state in a country already mired in a deep political and economic crisis. The international community has rallied, with 24 nations sending over 500 metric tonnes of supplies, more than 2,700 rescue and support personnel, and about 86 canine teams, according to Venezuelan authorities.
The twin earthquakes have left close to 1,500 confirmed dead and hundreds of buildings collapsed.
Aftershocks Continue to Rattle Rescue Efforts
Residents of Caracas woke up on Monday to an aftershock that rocked their houses, while rescue teams continued their fifth day of round-the-clock work. The 4.6-magnitude aftershock hit north of Caracas early Monday at a depth of 10 kilometers, according to the US Geological Survey. No damage was immediately reported from the aftershock, the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodriguez, said on social media. Hundreds of aftershocks have occurred since last Wednesday, rattling national and international rescue teams as the window to find survivors dwindles.
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele noted the rescue of 21-year-old Aaron Levi from a collapsed building in the disaster-stricken state of La Guaira. "This rescue was made possible thanks to the coordinated efforts of rescue teams from Venezuela, Mexico and El Salvador," he said on X.
Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodriguez, commented on Levi's story, explaining that he was pulled out after 106 hours trapped under the rubble through a rescue operation that lasted 43 hours.
US Citizens Affected
A senior US administration official said three US citizens are known to have died and 12 are missing since the earthquakes, and that a State Department task force has fielded more than 300 inquiries from Americans seeking advice. A second official estimated that approximately 5,000 US citizens are in Venezuela.
