Rodriguez defends Venezuela’s response to earthquake as death toll passes 3,000 | Venezuela

Venezuela’s interim president defended her country’s emergency response to the double earthquake that killed more than 3,000 people, and pledged that the country would not slide into social unrest.

Many Venezuelans have expressed anger at what they see as the US-backed government’s inadequate response to the June 24 disaster before international teams arrived.

“There will be no social unrest here – what we have here is deep social solidarity,” said Delcy Rodriguez, speaking during a military ceremony marking Venezuela’s Independence Day.

She added that thousands of government officials and rescue teams were sent to help recover victims and find survivors.

Delcy Rodriguez pledged that the country would not slide into social unrest. Photography: Pedro Mattei/AP

The Venezuelan Ministry of Information said, on Sunday evening, that the death toll in the earthquakes had risen to 3,342, while the number of injured exceeded 16,700.

One of the worst earthquake disasters in Latin America, the shocks led to the collapse of dozens of buildings, leaving thousands homeless, especially in the coastal area of ​​La Guaira, north of the capital, Caracas.

Eleven days after the twin tremors, international rescue teams were wrapping up their operations to find more survivors while families were still trying to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones from the rubble.

Rosa Lopez’s brother-in-law, Jose Antonio Toledo, 25, was found under the building where he worked as a security guard when the quakes struck. The crew transported his body to a local hospital, where they were turned away by staff due to lack of space. The body was sent to another facility and eventually moved to an open parking lot.

A forensic doctor helped the family find him days later, on Saturday. But once his body was identified, they didn’t know what to do with it because they couldn’t afford the $450 (£350) the funeral home was charging.

Video: A man was pulled alive from a collapsed shopping center in Venezuela eight days after the earthquakes – video

Around midnight Saturday, Lopez received a message that the sheriff’s office was offering them a free space at a local cemetery, but they had to move quickly so as not to lose the spot. An hour later, Lopez and her daughter climbed a hill leading to the cemetery and buried Toledo.

“He was a perfectionist, a kid who loved helping people,” Lopez said.

They saved him from a mass grave, but many fear that will come as they search for the bodies of their loved ones.

The number of bodies found is expected to rise.

Forensic technician Joel Mirabal has worked for seven straight days since the 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes struck.

The 45-year-old estimates that in 60% to 70% of cases, there is a relative or neighbor available to identify the body when they come to collect it. However, it’s a struggle, he says, as many rely on tattoos, scars or familiar clothing.

“They don’t look even 10 percent like they did in real life,” he said of the victims.

If the body cannot be identified, it goes to forensic specialists working in the port of La Guaira. Private companies have donated large refrigerated containers to help preserve the bodies, but the death toll continues to rise.

“It is clear that mass graves will have to be created,” Mirabal said. He added: “The collapse is massive, and the bodies are buried under many layers of debris.”

Mirabal said he and other forensic technicians expect to spend up to three months collecting bodies.

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