Delayed orders from senior military commanders, a lack of basic equipment and overall confusion were among the issues that hindered the deployment of Venezuelan troops in the crucial first days after two devastating earthquakes struck the country’s coast last month, eight sources familiar with the response told Reuters, amid public outrage over the government’s response to the disaster.
The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes killed about 5,000 people, according to the government, though experts including the United States Geological Survey have predicted a likelihood of a final death toll of nearly double that figure. The disaster was especially devastating in La Guaira state, home to the country’s main airport, a major port and hundreds of high-rise residential buildings that collapsed either fully or partially.
Acting President Delcy Rodriguez, who is backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, has defended the government’s response amid criticism that military personnel and other officials arrived late and have done little to help victims of the quake, including people who were trapped in the rubble.
Though Rodriguez said 4,000 officials were deployed immediately, military personnel and police were scarcely visible during the first hours after the quake, according to residents, Reuters witnesses and several sources with knowledge of the matter.
Civilians spearheaded much of the response, especially during the first two days, bringing aid like food and using rudimentary tools to pull both the living and the dead from the rubble. They were eventually joined by international rescue teams, firefighters, civil protection officials and a limited number of Venezuelan soldiers, who told Reuters they volunteered for the often-gruesome work rather than being directly ordered to.
The limited presence of security forces was due to delays in deployment orders, uncertainty over who was responsible for coordinating the crisis and a lack of relevant equipment, said active and retired military officers, other sources familiar with the armed forces and sources in the diplomatic community.
“We don’t act on our own; we receive direct orders,” said an active-duty officer who spoke on condition of anonymity. “I can’t tell my unit, ‘Let’s go help in La Guaira,’ if I haven’t been ordered to do so. We didn’t have a plan like the ones that exist for defending the nation. There was no plan for dealing with something like this.”
A group of soldiers from the officer’s unit traveled to La Guaira the day after the June 24 quakes after receiving orders to reinforce personnel there.
“We weren’t going to leave without preparation or logistics because obviously nobody is prepared for something like this,” the officer said. “The troops in Caracas should at least have been sent to provide security and help however they could.”
