Death toll from earthquakes in Venezuela rises to 3,535

In the new bulletin, authorities maintained the number of injured at 16,740. The previous death toll, released on Sunday, was 3,342. The regime avoids talking about the missing, but the head of humanitarian aid at the United Nations has already estimated that this number could reach 50,000, although some projections point to something closer to 10,000.

The earthquakes on June 24, with magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, had as their main area of impact the state of La Guaira, in the north of the country. The resort located about 40 km from the capital Caracas suffered the greatest damage, with buildings destroyed and thousands of residents living in makeshift shelters installed in parks and other public areas.

Although on a smaller scale, Caracas also suffered damage caused by the tremors. The Chacao region was the hardest hit in the capital, especially the neighborhoods of Los Palos Grandes and Altamira.

The AFP news agency reported that more than 150 unidentified bodies were buried in the country this Sunday (5).

The regime's response has been the target of criticism from part of the population, who consider emergency actions to be slow. Venezuela's interim leader, Delcy Rodríguez, rejected the criticism and said search and rescue operations were continuing. Without presenting evidence, she accused "media laboratories" of trying to undermine the work of emergency teams.

Delcy also ruled out, this Sunday, a possible "social upheaval" after the earthquakes. "There will be no social upheaval, what exists here is the deep social solidarity of our people", he stated during the celebration of Independence Day in Venezuela.

Delcy, who took power after the capture of dictator Nicolás Maduro at the beginning of the year in a United States operation, led the ceremony at the facilities of Fort Tiuna, a military area in Caracas.

Last Monday (29), the UN humanitarian coordinator in Venezuela reported that the organization had started purchasing 10,000 bags for storing bodies, indicating the expectation of an increase in the number of deaths.

Given the scale of the tragedy, the World Food Program requested US$50 million from the international community to provide assistance to approximately 500,000 people over the next three months.

The earthquakes worsened a humanitarian crisis that was already affecting the country. Before the disaster, the UN estimated that almost 8 million Venezuelans were in need of some type of humanitarian assistance.

According to the organization, 27 countries sent specialized teams and sniffer dogs to help search for survivors among the rubble.

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