New satellite imagery obtained by this newsroom reveals the full extent of the catastrophic flooding that has struck Venezuela's northern coast. The images, taken yesterday afternoon, show entire towns submerged under brown water, with only rooftops breaking the surface. One source, a former UK intelligence officer who now works with disaster response NGOs, described the scene as 'apocalyptic' and confirmed that the death toll is likely to be in the thousands, though official figures remain suppressed by the Maduro regime.
The UK Foreign Office has quietly activated its emergency response mechanism, dispatching a team of logistics experts and medical personnel to the region. A government source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told me that the British aid package includes water purification units, field hospitals, and a contingency fund of £5 million. 'We are coordinating with the Red Cross and UN agencies,' the source said. 'But the regime is making access difficult. They are more interested in controlling the narrative than saving lives.'
This is not the first time London has stepped in where Caracas has failed. In 2018, UK aid workers were blocked from entering the country after a similar disaster, amid allegations that the government was using humanitarian aid as a political tool. Now, with snap elections looming, the timing of this crisis is deeply suspicious. Documents leaked to this newsroom from within the Venezuelan oil ministry suggest that maintenance funds for coastal defences were diverted to military spending earlier this year. The money was meant to reinforce sea walls and drainage systems. Instead, it bought Russian hardware.
I have seen the receipts. They are stamped with the seal of the state-owned oil company PDVSA. They show payments to a shell company registered in Cyprus, which then transferred the funds to a Russian arms dealer. The total amount: $47 million. That is roughly the cost of a single anti-aircraft system. Meanwhile, the people of the coastal town of La Guaira are wading through waist-deep water, searching for missing relatives.
One resident, a fisherman named Carlos, managed to get a message out via satellite phone. 'We have no food, no clean water. The government sent soldiers but they just watch us. They say help is coming but it never does. Please tell your people we are dying here.' I am running his words through a voice verification tool, but his testimony corroborates what the images show: a government that has abandoned its people.
The UK teams are currently staging out of Colombia, awaiting clearance to enter. But the Venezuelan foreign ministry has made no public statement. My contacts in the intelligence community tell me that MI6 has been tracking the Maduro regime's financial flows for years. They knew about the diverted defence funds. They flagged it to the Treasury. No action was taken. Now, the bodies are piling up.
I am not one for moralising. But when you follow the money, you see the bodies. Real lives. Real money. Real greed. And a billion-dollar oil industry that would rather buy weapons than build a wall against the sea. The aid teams will do what they can. But the rot is deeper than any floodwater.
Check back here for updates. I will be publishing the documents in full once my sources are secure. The regime cannot hide from the truth forever.
**Update:** The Foreign Office has just announced that a Royal Air Force C-17 is en route to Colombia with 50 tonnes of relief supplies. They say they have 'not yet received approval' from Caracas. They should not hold their breath.
