After Venezuela suffered twin magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes on June 24, it wasn’t the Venezuelan government that came to the rescue. Instead, it was the Venezuelan people who showed up for themselves.
The catastrophic earthquakes killed more than 4,800 people, injured over 16,700, and left at least 20,000 homeless. The death toll will continue rising in coming weeks as families search through heavy debris for the bodies of their loved ones – a process that is being prolonged by the notable absence of significant assistance from the Venezuelan government. Three weeks after the initial tremors, many areas have still received no support from the government, leaving them to carry out the gruesome recovery of bodies alone.
As the earthquakes brought down and damaged thousands of buildings, they also laid bare the weaknesses of Venezuelan state institutions destabilized by more than a quarter century of corruption, repression, and one-party rule which hollowed out freedom, opportunity, and accountability in the country. Now more than ever, the United States should demonstrate its support for the Venezuelan people to help them move beyond this tragedy to rebuild the country.
After the quakes, ordinary citizens in Venezuela started digging through tons of heavy concrete with any rudimentary tools that were available, knowing loved ones and neighbors were buried beneath the rubble of the multistory residential buildings that are a feature of Caracas and neighboring urban centers most severely affected. In many cases and out of desperation, they dug through debris and moved rubble with only their own bare hands.
In the days and weeks following, volunteers mounted extraordinary efforts to set up rudimentary field hospitals, collect and distribute basic necessities for survivors, and organize platforms for mapping needs and directing assistance through verified organizations and initiatives. Independent media groups fact-checked rumors to identify false and misleading information online and help citizens seeking information and services. The Venezuelan diaspora, including in the United States, mobilized to begin shipping emergency supplies.
How a government responds in a crisis can make or break its legitimacy in the eyes of its citizens, which then affects a country’s overall stability. Venezuelans are noticing who is and isn’t helping them during this current disaster, and as a result, trust in the de facto authorities to guide the country forward is being severely strained.
The Venezuelan government’s paltry response was hampered from the beginning by pre-existing conditions, including chronic electricity shortages, scarce heavy machinery, a weak healthcare system, and an overall failure to invest in securing basic infrastructure.
But the leadership in Caracas also revealed self-serving priorities as the country’s beefed-up security services weren’t fully deployed to help with rescue efforts. Instead, they were observed blocking volunteers from participating in rescue and assistance activities and entering affected neighborhoods, impeding trained international rescuers, and even shutting down donation collection points.
Reports of police and military officers attempting to steal cash, appliances, and other valuable items from the wreckage of homes also emerged. Meanwhile, first responders such as firefighters and medical providers appeared to lack specialized training and critical basic equipment that could have accelerated rescue efforts, costing precious lives.
Polls reveal that Venezuelans are increasingly frustrated with the country’s leadership. Negative perceptions of interim President Delcy Rodriguez have grown. A monthly Latam Pulse survey conducted in the days after the earthquakes by AtlasIntel and Bloomberg showed that 61% of poll respondents had a negative opinion of her compared with 56% in January. The share of Venezuelans who view Rodriguez positively has decreased to 23% from 29% over the same period.
Sixty-nine percent of Venezuelans in the poll also identified corruption as a significant problem. These sentiments were expressed when local citizens denounced a visit by Rodriguez to one Caracas neighborhood, accusing her of abusing the tragedy of the earthquakes for political gain.
The earthquakes have only increased the complexity of challenges that Venezuela currently faces. The country now faces another acute humanitarian crisis, and support structures need to be rebuilt from the ground up to restore long-broken confidence in the country’s leadership.
The United States has taken important first steps towards alleviating the tragedy by committing $386 million in emergency humanitarian assistance, supporting relief logistics, and contributing search and rescue teams alongside others from more than two dozen other countries.
But to stabilize Venezuela and build it back better will also require pressuring the country’s authorities to reform its institutions, invest in its infrastructure, and empower its own people. The best way to do so is to restore the people’s right to hold their own leadership accountable through democratic elections. This entails a multistep process that will require vigilant monitoring and could take as long as 12 to 18 months to execute freely and fairly.
What Venezuela’s authorities haven’t been able to strip away from the Venezuelan people is the compassion they hold for one another and have so generously demonstrated during the country’s time of great need. Venezuelan citizens continue to prove they are capable and committed to rescuing and rebuilding themselves. They deserve U.S. support towards a more secure and prosperous future that stands to benefit the entire Western Hemisphere.
