Venezuela earthquake death toll rises to 2,595 amid medical crisis and political controversy

The official death toll from Venezuela's twin earthquakes on June 24 has risen to 2,595, with over 12,000 injured, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced on July 3 Source: CNBC. The earthquakes, magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5, were the strongest to hit the country in over a century Source: CNBC.

Death toll controversy

Critics and international observers question the official count. A forensic pathologist in La Guaira told CNN the figure is “not even a third of what is actually there,” adding that her makeshift morgue is processing 400 bodies a day Source: CNN. The U.N. coordinator for Venezuela said the number “will unavoidably and sadly keep on growing” Source: NPR. An independent online list tracks 38,500 missing Source: CNBC.

Medical crisis

Aid workers warn that infectious diseases could soon claim more lives. “The issue we foresee just around the corner is the infections that patients who have been exposed to the disaster for the longest time might bring,” said Dr. Eugenio Cova Source: AP News. Thousands of displaced are in crowded shelters without clean water Source: Al Jazeera. The WHO reported that 38 hospitals were damaged, and three are no longer operating Source: AP News.

International response

The U.S. has deployed 900 military personnel and pledged $150 million in aid Source: CNBC. Over 27 nations have sent assistance under U.N. coordination Source: Al Jazeera. However, Rodríguez defended her government’s response, saying emergency protocols were activated within hours Source: CNA. Local residents and opposition figures accuse the government of a slow, inadequate response, with many digging through rubble by hand Source: Foreign Policy.