In Venezuela, a 'completely ineffective' government worsens earthquake disaster, experts say

By — Maria Ramirez Uribe Maria Ramirez Uribe Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/in-venezuela-a-completely-ineffective-government-worsens-earthquake-disaster-experts-say Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter In Venezuela, a 'completely ineffective' government worsens earthquake disaster, experts say World Jul 2, 2026 6:13 PM EDT Hospitals lacking medicines and equipment. Daily power outages. At least 8 million people in need of humanitarian support. These were the realities in Venezuela before it was hit by back-to-back earthquakes on June 24. Venezuela has been in the midst of what experts describe as a complex humanitarian emergency for years. Democratic backsliding, corruption, inflation and economic sanctions have left its people without access to basic services. Nearly 8 million Venezuelans have fled the country in the past decade, one of the largest displacement crises in the world, according to the United Nations. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Venezuela has experienced "the sustained collapse of a society," said Phil Gunson, a senior analyst for International Crisis Group who has lived in Venezuela for decades. And now it's reeling from the devastation of one of its worst natural disasters. In the week since consecutive 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck northern Venezuela, civilians have sometimes dug through rubble with their bare hands and begged for the government's help. Watch the PBS News Hour segment in the player above. The country's longstanding state of crisis has led to an insufficient and uncoordinated response that has "left citizens in a situation of deep vulnerability," said Laura Cristina Dib, director for Venezuela at the Washington Office on Latin America. The Venezuelan government estimated Wednesday that 2,295 people have died in the earthquakes and another 11,000 are injured. However, that's believed to be a vast undercount. Gianluca Rampolla del Tindaro, the United Nations' humanitarian coordinator for Venezuela, said the organization was procuring 10,000 body bags. And U.N. emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher called an estimate of 50,000 missing people "terrifyingly plausible." Here's what to know about the Venezuelan government's response to the twin quakes. Where did Venezuela stand before the earthquakes? Nearly six months before the earthquakes, the U.S. military captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, who had been in power since 2013. Delcy Rodríguez, the former vice president, has assumed control as interim leader, working with President Donald Trump's administration since. WATCH: Trump says U.S. will 'run' Venezuela after capturing Maduro in surprise military strike Maduro's capture offered a "glimmer of hope that Venezuela was going to recover its economy and democracy," David Smilde, a Tulane University professor who has studied V