Two weeks after devastating earthquakes struck Venezuela, interim President Delcy Rodríguez has called for the release of the country’s frozen foreign assets to fund disaster relief efforts.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Rodríguez said she had asked the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to release financial resources held by the institution for emergency use. The funds would go toward supporting families in need and communities worst affected by the disaster, she said.
She also said she had sent a letter to Britain’s King Charles III calling for the return of Venezuelan gold reserves held by the Bank of England. “This gold belongs to our people and should be used to serve them,” Rodríguez said.
The official death toll from the earthquakes has risen to 3,811, with 16,740 people injured, National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez, the interim leader’s brother, said on X on Wednesday evening.
The chances of finding survivors beneath the rubble are now considered extremely low, two weeks after the twin earthquakes. However, relatives in the hardest-hit areas of La Guaira state continue to search for signs of life amid the devastation.
According to UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher, the priority for international aid workers has now shifted to delivering water, food and medicine to affected communities in northern Venezuela.
The country was struck by two powerful earthquakes measuring magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 on June 24. More than 1,000 aftershocks followed.