Venezuela Beneath the Rubble
Editorial by La Estrella de Panamá
HAVANA TIMES – With their bare hands, with hydraulic jacks, and with broken hearts. That is how Venezuelans are searching through the rubble after the earthquakes that struck the country on June 24.
The earth shook, but what hurts most is the fragility of a country battered by years of neglect, hardship, and institutions incapable of responding with the urgency that a human tragedy demands. The figures are staggering. [As of Friday morning, the death toll stands at 589, with 2,980 injured, and the numbers continue to rise.]
Families are searching for their loved ones, entire communities are left without clear answers, neighbors are clearing away concrete, and people remain trapped between despair and hope.
Behind every collapsed building is a story; behind every statistic, a name; behind every silence, a family waiting for help. Panama and several countries in the region have taken a necessary step by joining the relief efforts. It is a valuable, humane, and urgently needed gesture. But much more is required.
The scale of the emergency demands a coordinated, sustained, and effective international response: humanitarian assistance, rescue teams, drinking water, medicines, food, heavy equipment, logistical support, and secure channels to ensure aid reaches those who need it most.
Venezuela cannot face this tragedy alone. The international community, multilateral organizations, the private sector, and civil society all have a responsibility to build immediate bridges of assistance.
It is not enough to watch from a distance or to mourn what has happened when every minute can mean the difference between life and death. Today, the message must be clear: the Caribbean nation needs solidarity, but it also needs action. Ignoring the cries rising from the rubble would be yet another act of indifference.
First published in Spanish by La Estrella de Panama and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.