A 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck the state of Sucre in eastern Venezuela on Tuesday, injuring dozens and sending panicked residents into the streets. The main hospital in Cumaná, the state capital, has been treating patients for fractures, cuts and panic attacks. Conditions inside the facility are grim. The hospital is part of a network that has relied on medical supplies from the United Kingdom since 2019, when the British government diverted aid intended for the Maduro regime to non-governmental organisations. But those supplies are running thin. Many of the hospital’s beds are broken. There is no hot water. And staff are treating patients by torchlight after power cuts.
Angustia Rivas, a 54-year-old grandmother, was brought in after a wall collapsed on her leg. “They gave me paracetamol,” she told me. “That is all they have. My leg is swollen but they say there is no surgeon until tomorrow.” A nurse, who asked not to be named, said she had treated 15 people with panic attacks within three hours. “People are terrified. Every aftershock sends them running. We have no sedatives left, just the basics from the UK pallets. But those are almost gone.”
The UK’s aid programme to Venezuela, worth £12 million over four years, was praised as a smart workaround to bypass a repressive regime. But recipients say it was never designed for a disaster of this scale. The shipments, which include antibiotics, surgical gloves and oral rehydration salts, have all but ceased due to political tensions and Brexit bureaucracy. The Foreign Office says it is “monitoring the situation closely.”
On the ground, the Venezuelan health system was already in ruins. Years of hyperinflation, emigration of doctors and shortages of basic medicine had left hospitals barely functioning. The earthquake was a hammer blow. “We have fractures, lacerations and crush injuries,” said Dr. Luis Medina, head of emergency medicine. “We are using makeshift splints from wood. Our imaging machines have no power. We need real help, not just promises.”
The quake hit at 9:47 am local time, with the epicentre near the coastal town of Carúpano. At least one person is confirmed dead: a 72-year-old man killed by a falling roof. Over 200 people are reported injured across three states, with 45 hospitalised. Aftershocks have continued, keeping people sleeping in the streets. President Nicolás Maduro has declared a state of emergency and promised aid, but few believe the promises will materialise.
For ordinary Venezuelans, the crisis is a brutal reminder of how far the country has fallen. “We used to have a good hospital,” said Rivas, looking at the cracked ceiling. “Now we depend on charity from strangers. And even that is running out.” The UK’s supplies were a lifeline. But lifelines fray. And when the earth shakes, there is nothing left.
