In her second public appearance since the afternoon of Wednesday when two consecutive earthquakes struck northern Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez called for "national unity" and provided the first official report of 32 fatalities and over 700 injured receiving care in public and private hospitals.
The acting president spoke early Thursday morning after the conclusion of a meeting to set up the command center for emergency response.
However, according to the latest data, the number has risen to at least 164 dead and 971 injured.
Regarding the hardest-hit 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 arduous rescue efforts to save the lives that God allows us to save."
"The state of La Guaira is a true tragedy and is becoming a disaster zone," he added.
Rodríguez specified that Miranda, La Guaira, Aragua, Carabobo, and Falcón "were greatly affected" by the earthquakes of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, which occurred just one minute apart.
International aid and gratitude to Trump
Rodríguez announced the imminent arrival of rescue brigades and specifically thanked the U.S. government.
“I want to thank President Donald Trump and his administration for being in constant contact with the Venezuelan government, with all our authorities, providing support, solidarity, and in the early hours, we will be receiving rescuers,” he said.
It also reported on phone calls with the Dominican president Luis Abinader and the Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele, who confirmed the deployment of brigades.
He also said that Qatar has a brigade ready to arrive this Thursday.
"I want to thank the governments of the world that, after the earthquakes, reached out to express their solidarity: the United States, Panama, Qatar, Ecuador, Colombia, the United Kingdom, Brazil, and Mexico. Also, to the United Nations and the multilateral financial organizations," he listed, without at any point mentioning Cuba among the countries that have offered support of any kind.
Measures and a call for calm
Rodríguez reminded the public of the BENAP platform to report affected homes or missing persons, and informed that hotels and shelters are available for those affected.
He directed a direct message to healthcare personnel: “I want to ask the doctors and nurses to return to their workplaces; and to the affected, I ask them to remain calm.”
About the priorities, she was clear: “The primary goal is to save lives; then we will see how to approach material reconstruction.”
Flanked by her brother Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly, and by the Minister of the Interior Diosdado Cabello, the acting president concluded with a spiritual call.
"I ask all the churches in Venezuela, all the faith traditions, to unite in a single prayer for the protection of our people," he concluded.
In her first appearance on the night of Wednesday, 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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