Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodriguez initiated this Wednesday direct international procedures to recover over 2,000 million dollars in blocked gold to rebuild homes destroyed by the June 24 double earthquake.
The Government intends to redirect these financial assets immediately toward recovering from the severe damage caused by the double earthquake on June 24.
The Acting President emphasized the urgency of recovering national patrimony to guarantee the social well-being of thousands of displaced citizens, confirming the dispatch of an official letter addressed to the King of England demanding the immediate release of national gold reserves currently retained by the Bank of England.
These sovereign assets, valued at approximately 2,000 million dollars, represent a crucial resource needed to address the tragic humanitarian consequences of the seismic disaster.
“I have decided to send a letter, among others, to the King of England to release the gold held at the Bank of England. That gold belongs to our people and that gold must be there to deal with the terrible, tragic consequences of this double earthquake“, she detailed.
In addition to the petition sent to the British monarch, the acting president held a direct phone call with the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). During the conversation, Acting President Delcy Rodriguez urged the international financial institution to cooperate in unlocking Venezuelan funds to address the ongoing emergency. In this sense, Rodriguez reaffirmed that securing the safety, protection and dignified relocation of every affected citizen remains the absolute priority of the Bolivarian Government.
Despite recent temporary licenses issued by the United States, critical state assets remain frozen in overseas bank accounts, directly hindering the state’s capacity to finance large-scale public infrastructure projects. In this sense, the Executive Power reiterated its call for an immediate end to the financial blockade, which severely limits the state’s ability to fund a complete national recovery.
The South American nation continues to face severe economic restrictions because of more than 1,000 unilateral coercive measures imposed by foreign powers.
Two Recovery Phases
To manage the post-quaker crisis, the Venezuelan Government designed a strategic plan consisting of two recovery phases. The first immediate phase focuses on overcoming the acute humanitarian emergency and stabilizing the affected population. The subsequent second phase will guide the country toward sustainable socioeconomic development, ensuring stable employment, social protection and high-quality education for children and youth in the reconstructed communities.
Following the first phase, the operational coordination of the 87 transitional camps remains a combined effort between the national Government, regional authorities and communal organizations. Meanwhile, the State is currently designing advanced, long-term housing models, including single-family and two-family residential units, under the “Venezuela is Borned” Plan (Venezuela Renace, in Spanish). These safe structures will house citizens who suffered total property loss during the natural disaster, providing them with comprehensive social support and security.
During the virtual conference, the Venezuelan Acting President Rodriguez, explained that the South American nation formally petitioned specialized technical assistance from seismology experts in Japan, Chile and Mexico. This international cooperation aims to project new residential units under strict anti-seismic criteria to prevent future infrastructure failures in the country.
Official Emergency Balance
The President of the Staff for the Creation of Transitory Camps, Jorge Rodriguez, delivered the official balance covering the period from the June 24 disaster to July 8. According to this update, the double earthquake caused 3,811 deaths and left 16,740 people injured across the region.
Emergency rescue units have successfully extracted 462 citizens alive from the collapsed concrete structures. However, the seismic event has left 17,907 citizens homeless or facing severe damage to their primary residences, requiring immediate insertion into temporary state camps.
The physical damage to local infrastructure is substantial, with 856 buildings sustaining structural damage. Out of this total, 190 buildings completely collapsed during the main seismic movements, which has complicated the search operations in high-density urban areas.
To assist the civilian population, the Government deployed 30,076 national officers, including members of the Armed Forces, police departments, firefighters and Civil Defense personnel. Furthermore, 4,388 international rescuers have arrived in the country to support the local efforts on the ground.
The humanitarian mobilization also relies on 28,992 registered volunteers organized into specialized brigades for rescue, relief distribution and infrastructure evaluation, who are actively working in victim care and emergency support on the field.
State agencies have distributed 9,600 tons of food and 9,689,528 liters of water to the affected population. Since the initial double earthquake on June 24, seismologists have registered 1,102 aftershocks in the region, keeping rescue teams on high alert.
To address the mental health crisis resulting from the tragedy, authorities activated the toll-free line (0800-AYUDA-01) for psychological and psychiatric support. Furthermore, the Homeland System (Patria, in Spanish) is channeling direct economic assistance to workers who lost their employment due to the disaster.
Currently, 16,686 people are housed in the 87 camps distributed between Caracas, La Guaira and Miranda state.
Acting President Delcy Rodriguez announced the implementation of “more established camps, designed under single-family and semi-family schemes, aimed at providing comprehensive care” to people who lost all their homes due to the earthquake on June 24.
“My greatest happiness will be when we respond to their housing situation”, she said. Following this, Acting President Delcy Rodriguez urged the population to maintain hope and faith during this complex recovery phase, meanwhile she guaranteed that the State will sustain its presence in the ruined zones until every family receives a proper housing response.
Author: Laura V. Mor
Source: Venezuelan Presidential Press
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