In her second public appearance since the afternoon of Wednesday when two consecutive earthquakes shook northern Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez called for "national unity" and provided the first official report of 32 fatalities and more than 700 injured being treated in public and private hospitals.
The acting president spoke in the early hours of Thursday, after concluding a meeting to establish the Emergency Management Office.
However, according to the latest data, the number has risen to at least 164 dead and 971 injured.
About the most affected area, Delcy was categorical:
"The state most affected by this unprecedented seismic phenomenon is La Guaira. There are dozens of collapsed buildings, and we are currently engaged in very challenging rescue efforts to save the lives that God allows us to save."
"The State of La Guaira is a true tragedy and has become a disaster area," he added.
Rodríguez specified that Miranda, La Guaira, Aragua, Carabobo, and Falcón "were heavily affected" by the earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, which occurred just one minute apart.
International aid and gratitude towards Trump
Rodríguez announced the imminent arrival of rescue brigades and expressed gratitude to the U.S. government.
“I want to thank President Donald Trump and his administration for maintaining constant communication with the Venezuelan government and all our authorities, providing support, solidarity, and in the first hours, we will be receiving rescuers,” he said.
He also reported on phone calls with the Dominican president Luis Abinader and the Salvadoran leader Nayib Bukele, who confirmed the dispatch of brigades.
He also said that Qatar has a team ready to arrive this Thursday.
"I want to thank the governments of the world who, after the earthquakes, reached out to express their solidarity: the United States, Panama, Qatar, Ecuador, Colombia, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and Mexico. I also extend my gratitude to the United Nations and to the multilateral financial institutions," he listed, without mentioning Cuba at any point among the countries that have offered support of any kind.
Measures and call for calm
Rodríguez reminded the community about the BENAP platform to report affected homes or missing persons, and stated that hotels and shelters are available for those impacted.
He directed a direct message to the healthcare staff: "I want to ask the doctors and nurses to report to their workplaces; and to the affected individuals, I ask for calm."
About the priorities, she was clear: “The main thing is to save lives; afterwards, we will see how to tackle the material reconstruction.”
Flanked by her brother Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly, and the Minister of the Interior Diosdado Cabello, the acting president concluded with a spiritual call.
"I ask all the churches in Venezuela, all faith communities, to come together in a single prayer for the protection of our people," he concluded.
In her first appearance on Wednesday night, Rodríguez declared a constitutional state of emergency, closed the Maiquetía International Airport, and suspended the Caracas Metro.
The Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the immediate deployment of search and rescue teams, while Trump wrote on Truth Social that he had instructed all government agencies to "move quickly," and that they would be there for their "new and great friends."
The United States Geological Survey issued a Maximum Red Alert and estimated a 42% probability that the death toll could exceed 10,000 people.
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