Lack of orders, equipment shortages slowed Venezuela's quake response, reports say

A slow military deployment, shortages of essential equipment and confusion over command structures disrupted Venezuela's emergency response after two powerful earthquakes struck the country's coast last month, eight sources familiar with the relief operation told Reuters, fuelling public anger over the government's handling of the disaster.

The earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, killed about 5,000 people, according to the government. However, experts, including the United States Geological Survey, have estimated that the final death toll could be nearly twice as high. The worst destruction was reported in La Guaira state, where the country's main airport, a major port and hundreds of high-rise residential buildings suffered partial or complete collapses.

Government defends response amid criticism

Acting President Delcy Rodriguez, who is backed by US President Donald Trump, has defended the government's handling of the disaster despite criticism that military personnel and other officials arrived late and provided limited assistance to victims, including those trapped beneath collapsed buildings.

Rodriguez said 4,000 officials were deployed immediately after the earthquakes. However, residents, Reuters witnesses and several people familiar with the response said military personnel and police were rarely seen during the crucial first hours following the disaster.

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Residents led rescue efforts in the early days

For much of the first two days, civilians carried out rescue operations, delivering food supplies and using basic tools to recover survivors and bodies from the rubble. They were later joined by international rescue teams, firefighters, civil protection officials and a limited number of Venezuelan soldiers, who told Reuters they had volunteered for the work instead of receiving direct deployment orders.

Sources, including active and retired military officers, members of the diplomatic community and others familiar with the armed forces, attributed the limited security presence to delays in issuing orders, uncertainty over who was responsible for coordinating the emergency response and shortages of necessary equipment.

Military says there was no disaster plan

"We don't act on our own; we receive direct orders," said an active-duty officer who spoke on condition of anonymity. "I can't tell my unit, 'Let's go help in La Guaira,' if I haven't been ordered to do so. We didn't have a plan like the ones that exist for defending the nation. There was no plan for dealing with something like this."

The officer said soldiers from the unit travelled to La Guaira a day after the June 24 earthquakes after receiving orders to reinforce personnel already there.

"We weren't going to leave without preparation or logistics because obviously nobody is prepared for something like this," the officer said. "The troops in Caracas should at least have been sent to provide security and help however they could."

Chain of command left responders waiting

A source familiar with diplomatic circles said uncertainty over leadership affected rescue operations from the outset. "There was no plan and the chain of command was weak; many people simply didn't know what to do," the source said.

The same source said delays in issuing instructions also slowed the deployment of international rescue teams that had arrived within the first 48 hours, costing valuable time when survivors could still have been rescued.

"Everyone looks upward waiting for an order. They would rather do nothing than act and risk being reprimanded," the source said, describing delays in assigning search sectors to rescuers. "The loss of those hours was enormously frustrating."

One source familiar with military affairs said the Marine Infantry Brigade was ready to deploy but never received the necessary instructions.

"The Marine Infantry Brigade was ready to move but never received instructions to do so," said one source with knowledge of military issues.

Equipment shortages added to operational challenges

Another military source said there were not enough vehicles to transport personnel to the disaster zone. Three additional sources said military units also lacked equipment, including hammers, pickaxes and helicopters fitted with night vision.

A separate source said the vice minister responsible for disaster response arrived in La Guaira around midnight on the day of the earthquakes without the communications equipment required to report the scale of the disaster.

Military expansion failed to improve readiness

Former President Hugo Chavez and his successor Nicolas Maduro, whom US forces removed in January, expanded the military leadership by appointing 2,000 generals while also giving senior and retired officers authority over food distribution, raw materials and state oil company PDVSA.

Meanwhile, lower-ranking personnel continue to receive poor pay, and many units remain without basic equipment.

"When we used to go out into the streets to protest, they seemed to move very quickly," said Ana Guedez, a 34-year-old volunteer shoveling rubble and referring to armed force repression of protests over the last decade. "But they can’t move to save people's lives?"

The United States, which has wielded significant influence over Caracas since Maduro's removal, deployed at least 900 personnel to assist with relief efforts. Venezuela's defence minister, who is under US sanctions, later met senior US military officials in Caracas after they arrived in the country.