The 7.3 magnitude quake that struck Venezuela’s coastal region on Tuesday evening has left hospitals overwhelmed with the injured and traumatised. Sources at the main hospital in Cumana describe a triage scene of chaos: broken bones, head wounds, and patients suffering acute panic attacks. The death toll stands at 15, but officials fear it will rise as rescue teams reach remote villages.
While the Venezuelan government has been slow to respond, UK aid has arrived. A British Embassy spokeswoman confirmed that a consignment of emergency medical supplies landed in Caracas this morning. But critics question why it took 36 hours. 'The paperwork was the delay,' a source within the embassy told me. 'But the supplies are here now.'
Local doctors I spoke with are grateful but wary. 'We need more than bandages. Our surgical wards are full. We need surgeons, anaesthetists, and mental health support,' one doctor said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. He described patients with fractures lying on floors because beds are full.
The UK’s Department for International Development says it has also deployed a team of medical experts to assess further needs. But there is a dark undercurrent to this story: the money trail. I have obtained documents showing that the UK’s aid budget has been slashed by 30 per cent this year. The Venezuela relief is being funded from a contingency pot, but who will pay the price when the next disaster strikes?
Meanwhile, President Maduro’s administration has been accused of diverting aid to loyalists. A former health ministry official, who fled to Colombia, told me that shipments of medical supplies have been known to disappear into warehouses controlled by military allies. 'I have seen the manifests. The boxes marked for hospitals are often redistributed to party officials,' he said. The Venezuelan government denies this.
Back in Cumana, the aftershocks keep coming. At least six have been reported since the main quake. Residents are sleeping in the streets, terrified of collapsing buildings. The hospital staff are running on adrenaline and little else. One nurse, her face streaked with dust, said: 'We will work until we drop. But we need help. Real help, not just promises.'
This is a story of two narratives: the UK’s humanitarian gesture and Venezuela’s dysfunctional response. But beneath both lies the same old truth: the powerful hoard resources while the vulnerable suffer. I’ll be tracking every pound of UK aid that lands here. Follow the money. The bodies are already counted.
