Venezuela Earthquake Response and Government Criticism

Call the people and tell them to come Take

the picture and erase it You should communicate to your embassy right now

Go to your embassy That's why my Venezuelan

producer immediately told me to try and contact an Australian embassy We

were outside a

morgue in the capital Caracas reporting on the recent twin earthquakes that have

devastated the country when these men approached us We saw up close what parts

of this government were focused on while this crisis unfolded They photographed

our visas and made us go through our camera to delete shots we had taken of the

building Our local producer helped talk things over and assured them we were in the

country legally and following its laws so we were allowed to leave When we walked

back to the car and shut the doors our producer said to us I

cannot guarantee your safety I think

you should consider leaving the country as soon as possible This was just one very

small example of the regime at work but the signs of how destructive it can

be were everywhere Reports have emerged of National Guards demanding payment from

people trying to remove the bodies of loved ones from the rubble Some international

aid workers have been blocked from entering parts of devastated communities too And

while their people use gardening tools and sometimes just their hands to recover

loved ones trapped in buildings some in government agencies appear to

have other priorities

Tens of thousands of people are still missing more than a week on from this tragedy

and many locals are in disbelief over government

restrictions that cause delays and confusion during the most crucial hours

after the disaster One man pointed

towards National Guards standing around and later asked me why do they carry guns

instead of shovels There has been plenty of videos circulating as well showing

the same frustration with armed guards during rescue

operations The day we were stopped by those police officers was the same day

acting president Delcy Rodriguez invited international media to a rare

press conference

Here Ms Rodriguez angrily rejected criticism of a government's response and

said it activated immediately She accused media outlets of spreading

misinformation and

politicising a humanitarian tragedy Here she says the Venezuelan government

and its authorities Authorities have spared no effort public

private national or international But the people I spoke with on the ground begged

to differ They say the government response has been slow and uncoordinated

and at times it's hindered search

and rescue operations For us we can leave and we have safe homes to return to

For those in Venezuela they must now endure this unfolding crisis and

continue searching for loved ones in the rubble

Endemic government corruption and

decades of neglect have made these tragic circumstances even more difficult