The ground has not stopped trembling in western Venezuela, and neither have the accusations. Sources on the ground confirm that the government of Nicolás Maduro has failed to coordinate a meaningful response to the earthquake that ripped through the Andean region three days ago. The initial 6.8 magnitude quake levelled entire villages in Mérida and Táchira states. Now, a series of aftershocks, the largest measuring 5.2, have sent terrified residents sleeping in the streets.
Documents obtained by this newsroom from within the Venezuelan civil protection agency reveal that emergency supplies have been sitting in warehouses in Caracas for 48 hours. No orders to distribute them have been issued. One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, described the scene as 'organised chaos' that is anything but organised.
The death toll stands at 37, but that number is expected to rise. Rescue efforts have been hampered by blocked roads and a lack of heavy machinery. Meanwhile, British aid teams are on standby. The Foreign Office confirmed that a team of 12 search and rescue specialists from the UK's International Search and Rescue team have been deployed to Colombia, waiting for permission to cross the border. That permission has not come.
The Venezuelan government, through state media, has blamed the delays on 'imperialist sanctions' that have crippled the economy. But the documents tell a different story. They show that fuel for helicopters and trucks was available. What was missing was the political will to act.
Families are digging through rubble with their bare hands. In the town of El Vigía, a local priest told our correspondent that the government's neglect is a 'mortal sin'. He said, 'They have the resources. They just don't care about us.'
This is a pattern. In 2018, after a similar quake in Sucre, aid supplies rotted in warehouses for weeks. The Maduro regime has a history of treating natural disasters as afterthoughts, focusing instead on political survival. Now, with aftershocks fraying already shattered nerves, the clock is ticking.
British teams are ready to move. They have medical supplies, sniffer dogs, and engineers. All they need is a green light from Caracas. But with the government accusing foreign aid workers of being 'spies' and 'interventionists', that light may never turn green.
The question is not whether Venezuela can handle this disaster alone. It cannot. The question is whether the Maduro government will let anyone help its own people.
