CATIA LA MAR, Venezuela (AP) 鈥� Venezuela’s U.S.-backed acting President Delcy Rodr铆guez on Thursday issued a fiery defense of her government’s response to last week’s , lashing out at critics who say authorities reacted too slowly, pushing back on suggestions that the true death toll is far higher than the government has acknowledged and rejecting accusations that the nation’s shoddily constructed social housing exacerbated the disaster.
The self-described socialist government of Rodr铆guez, striving for legitimacy months after the former from power in January, for what residents have described as a sluggish and haphazard response to the quakes.
Residents of the hardest-hit state, La Guaira, have that the initial absence of a serious government search-and-rescue operation left them alone to scour for neighbors and loved ones with their bare hands. Rescuers have lamented the country’s shortages of specialized equipment. Experts have warned that of social housing projects 鈥� a hallmark policy of former President Hugo Ch谩vez 鈥� left neighborhoods .
At a press conference for foreign journalists in the capital of Caracas late Thursday, Rodr铆guez, wearing a black ribbon as a symbol of mourning, refused to accept the criticism.
鈥淲e did not wait one day, two days or three days. We activated immediately,鈥� she said, lacing into media outlets that she accused of spreading misinformation. 鈥淭o politicize a humanitarian tragedy like this 鈥� when the Venezuelan government and its authorities have spared no effort, public, private, national, or international 鈥� is disgraceful.”
Authorities have counted at least 2,295 people killed by the earthquake as of Wednesday 鈥� a number that鈥檚 expected to rise. They did not offer an updated death toll on Thursday, and have maintained tight control over public communications and relief efforts.
A rare bright spot in the misery
The stench of decomposition hung heavy over streets of flattened buildings as rescue missions to find survivors of increasingly turned to the recovery of corpses.
Desperate for good news, Venezuelan and international emergency workers celebrated the security guard found alive after nearly eight days under the rubble 鈥� five days beyond the critical 72-hour mark following a quake when experts say finding survivors is most likely.
National broadcasters reran footage of the exuberant moment he was pried free from the collapsed mall and lifted onto a stretcher as crowds cheered. Trapped in an air pocket beneath the concrete, Hern谩n Alberto Gil Flores survived on the food and water that rescuers managed to pass him through crevices.
Elsewhere across La Guaira, an air of hopelessness was setting in. The port city of Catia La Mar teemed with officials carrying body bags and stacking wooden coffins.
More than 38,000 reports of missing people 鈥� many of them likely buried beneath the rubble 鈥� have been sent to a website set up by the Venezuelan opposition, as the government has not given official figures for those missing.
When one journalist asked Rodr铆guez about the true, still-unknown toll of the disaster, citing reports that the United Nations is procuring 10,000 body bags, Rodr铆guez defended the government’s tally.
鈥淲e do not want to speculate,” she said. 鈥淭he numbers we provide are rigorously verified.鈥�
In La Guaira, several of Ch谩vez’s signature social housing projects were razed by the earthquakes, prompting suspicions of flawed construction. Rodriguez deflected the accusations, claiming on Thursday that about 80% of the collapsed buildings were privately developed. She did not offer evidence.
Rodr铆guez鈥檚 denies a slow government response
Pressed on reports that residents were on their own in the first 48 hours after the quakes, with heavy machinery and official aid scarce, Rodr铆guez acknowledged that 鈥渘aturally, at the sites where the building collapsed, the first people to arrive were survivors of the collapse itself, relatives and neighbors.”
But she railed against what she called 鈥渘arratives manufactured in propaganda laboratories” and claimed that a day after the quakes, 鈥淲e had already mobilized the full capacity of the Venezuelan state together with the private sector.鈥�
The disaster has evolved into the biggest test of competence yet for Rodr铆guez, who served as deputy to Maduro until his ouster and became interim leader with the .
Her comments Thursday came a day before the extension of her 180-day mandate as acting leader was set to expire. It was unclear what would happen once the deadline passes Friday.
Under Venezuela鈥檚 constitution, temporary absences are to be filled by the vice president 鈥� which was Rodr铆guez鈥檚 former role 鈥� for up to 90 days. These interim appointments can be extended by the national assembly for an additional 90 days. The National Assembly, controlled by Rodr铆guez鈥檚 party, can trigger a snap election if lawmakers declare the post permanently vacant.
U.S. support of a government under fire
In contrast to the aftermath of , when then-President Ch谩vez rejected offers of assistance from an adversarial U.S., Rodr铆guez has publicly welcomed aid and rescue teams from governments across the political spectrum 鈥� including the Trump administration and its regional allies.
In expressing thanks for the foreign help, Rodr铆guez singled out Israel, which has no diplomatic relations with Venezuela. She praised President Donald Trump and Secretary State of Marco Rubio, saying they 鈥渞emained constantly attentive and offered support.鈥�
Washington has thrown its support behind Rodr铆guez in its bid to and largely turned its back on opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner , who this week accused Rodr铆guez鈥檚 government of blocking her return to the country.
The U.S. has committed over $300 million and deployed some 900 military personnel to support rescue operations. On top of that, John M. Barrett, the U.S. charg茅 d鈥檃ffaires to Venezuela, said the U.S. would make revenue from Venezuelan oil production, since Maduro鈥檚 seizure, available for relief efforts. That promise has made demands for more transparency in U.S. management of Venezuelan oil sales all the more urgent, analysts say.
鈥淰enezuelans really need that money to be used for the protection of Venezuelans,鈥� said Laura Cristina Dib, Venezuela program director at the independent human rights organization Washington Office on Latin America.
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DeBre reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Associated Press journalists Ben Finley in Washington, Gabriela Aoun Angueira in San Diego, Gisela Salomon in Miami and Megan Janetsky in Mexico City contributed to this report.
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Corrects that the deadline for the acting president expires on Friday, not Thursday.
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