reports the German press
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Criticism of the government of interim President Delcy Rodriguez is growing by the day.
By Efecto Cocuyo
HAVANA TIMES – The German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung examines the controversy surrounding Delcy Rodríguez government’s handling of the earthquake crisis in an article titled “The Earthquakes Are Also Shaking Politics”.
“People are becoming increasingly angry,” says Carlos Sojo, a law student in Caracas. According to him, the state showed its worst face during this catastrophe from the very beginning: “They reacted far too late.” (…) Real assistance did not arrive until 48 hours after the earthquake. For many people trapped beneath collapsed buildings, that help came too late. Now there is a shortage of medicine and food. The entire healthcare system is at risk of collapse because of its precarious condition and the large number of injured people, despite international aid.
Criticism of the government is increasing every day. Asdrubal Oliveros, an economist at Andres Bello Catholic University in Caracas, is calling for “leadership with democratic legitimacy and the ability to build consensus.” Following the government’s failure, he argues that, at the very least for reconstruction, Venezuela needs “legitimate institutions, clear rules, and a political agreement” based on the trust of its citizens.
Anger has also been directed at the United States
The newspaper Handelsblatt published an article titled “Anger Is Growing Against the Regime… and Also Against the United States”, highlighting the public’s frustration in the aftermath of the tragedy
“On social media, videos are circulating showing people openly insulting military personnel. Until a few days ago, no one would have dared to do that, as they would have been arrested immediately. Now, the public is confronting firefighters, police officers, and other security forces who remain inactive. For days, people have been waiting outside collapsed buildings for help that has yet to arrive. Even foreign rescue teams cannot remove the massive piles of rubble without heavy machinery. Meanwhile, because of the tropical temperatures, the smell of decomposing bodies is beginning to spread throughout the disaster zone. Community kitchens organized by private citizens are feeding those affected. On TikTok, posts showing security forces dismantling privately organized humanitarian aid collection centers have drawn thousands of outraged comments.”
Delcy Rodríguez, whom Donald Trump says is doing a fantastic job.
The authorities continue to be highly secretive with information. (…) The government appears determined to prevent the true scale of the destruction from becoming public. The severe damage in La Guaira is also the result of corruption, poor investment decisions, and state neglect during 27 years of Chavista rule. (…) The Venezuelan regime’s failure to manage this catastrophe is also becoming a problem for Trump. “The regime’s failure in responding to the disaster represents a serious setback for Trump,” an anonymous diplomat told us. (…)
The United States has maintained a low profile in the relief effort. “The US Americans are playing virtually no role on the ground,” says a foreign participant in the rescue operations. According to him, US military personnel have restored the airport to allow military flights to resume and are also working on rebuilding the port of La Guaira. (…) Since January, the United States has controlled the revenue generated by Venezuela’s oil exports, the country’s main source of income. Officially, those funds still belong to the Venezuelan state, but they are managed through accounts controlled by the United States.
Those funds are now estimated to total about $3 billion. It remains unclear how much of that money has actually been transferred to Venezuela. “Now they want to give Venezuela only $150 million of those $3 billion,” one diplomat said regarding the announcement. “People don’t like that.”
Risk of Misappropriation of Reconstruction Funds
The Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung focuses on the countries that have provided assistance to Venezuela during this difficult time:
“Surprisingly, the US State Department announced last Sunday that it would send another 250 specialists. They may play a more visible role during the critical cleanup and debris removal phase that is now beginning.”
A German rescue worker says that the difficult stage of reconstruction is now starting. The government will continue to depend on international assistance, although there is a high risk that reconstruction funds could be misappropriated.
It is noteworthy that the Venezuelan regime’s traditional allies—Russia, China, and Iran—have been absent from the rescue operations. Moscow and Tehran have limited themselves to expressing solidarity. Beijing has announced official aid of only $15 million, according to the state news agency Xinhua, which also reported that it is primarily Chinese companies and businesspeople based in Venezuela that are supplying humanitarian assistance.
Cuba, meanwhile—which for years sent doctors and military personnel to Venezuela in exchange for Venezuelan oil supplies—dispatched a 14-member emergency response team last Sunday.
First published in Spanish by Efecto Cocuyo and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.
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