Venezuela welcomes 1600 foreign rescuers after quake
Venezuela’s government said 1,600 foreign rescue team members had arrived to help search for survivors of devastating twin earthquakes this week that have killed more than 900 people and restricted access to the worst-hit state.
In La Guaira, a popular destination for beachgoers where at least 100 buildings, mostly high-rises, were destroyed or damaged, residents and volunteers for days complained of a lack of heavy equipment and limited official presence.
Three days after the earthquake, 10 more countries continued to participate in rescue efforts and 14,000 soldiers and police were in La Guaira to patrol and take hygiene measures, Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodriguez said in an overnight speech on state television.
“17 flights carrying more than 1,600 rescue team members have arrived in Venezuela in recent hours, and 25 additional flights are expected to arrive in the next 24 hours,” foreign ministry official Oliver Blanco said. he said.
“We thank the international community for its support and solidarity in these moments of uncertainty for Venezuelans,” Blanco added of X earlier Saturday.
Officials said teams from El Salvador, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Switzerland, Ecuador, Spain, Chile, Colombia, Netherlands, Italy and the United States were already on site.
Rodriguez said rescuing those still trapped, especially in La Guaira, remains the government’s top priority.
There was a largely no official presence in some areas on Friday as families and neighbors tried to find missing loved ones under rubble, sometimes digging with their hands, as rescue teams made their way to areas around La Guaira state and the Venezuelan capital Caracas.
Authorities closed the road between La Guaira and nearby Caracas on Friday evening, saying heavy traffic was preventing the rapid passage of emergency vehicles and official rescuers.
Civilians who are not part of official rescue teams will need an ID document to cross the barricade, and Reuters witnesses were prevented from using the main road by police on Saturday morning, while an old secondary road was also blocked by traffic.
The government had previously thanked civilians who brought aid to desperate residents, mostly on motorcycles.
Venezuelan state television broadcast footage of thousands of pairs of shoes, clothes and other aid collected by the government.
While power was completely cut off in Moron, the epicenter of the earthquake, and in La Guaira on Friday, electricity was being restored in other places, with Rodriguez saying 60 percent of electricity had been restored.
Crippled by years of underinvestment and economic sanctions, Venezuela’s power grid regularly experiences problems, leading to power outages lasting hours each day in some areas.
Although the government says hundreds of people are missing or stranded, more than 54,000 people are listed as unknown on a website backed by the country’s opposition.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that more than 10,000 deaths are possible from magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes, placing them among Latin America’s deadliest earthquakes of the last century.
Aid agencies believe the first 48 to 72 hours are crucial for people to be rescued alive, but this can be extended if people have access to food and water.
The disaster could have political consequences for Rodriguez, who has tried to portray himself as an agent of change despite being vice president of Nicolas Maduro, who was deposed and arrested by the United States in January.
After meeting with the US military’s Northern Command and disaster experts on Friday, Rodriguez spoke by phone with US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The United States said it was taking action to provide $150 million in aid and sanctions relief, while its military sent two ships and helicopters and planes would support rescue efforts.
Among the rescue teams working in La Guaira is a team from El Salvador, whose President Nayib Bukele greeted several rescuers, including a 15-year-old girl, via the X account.
Reuters eyewitnesses said looting took place in several areas in La Guaira.
With EFE and AP
