Some Venezuelans fear a dark and dangerous future in aftermath of twin earthquakes

The time to come seems darkness and unsafe for some Venezuelans amid the dust, dust and demise shrouding parts of the country that suffered the brunt of twin earthquakes, creating one of the worst natural disasters in its history.

Yogelis Rodriguez is sleeping in her car, which doesn't run, because the earthquakes left such deep fissures throughout her apartment building that no one can live there now. She fears it will have to be torn down.

"How does the future look? Black," said Rodriguez, who lives in the state of La Guaira near Venezuela's Simón Bolivar International Airport, which also sustained severe damage from the 7.2- and 7.5-magnitude quakes last Wednesday.

Rodriguez said she couldn't find work in Venezuela's weak economy before the natural disaster struck. She has now lost her home and has no way to pay for the repairs her vehicle needs.

The underlying weakness in the Venezuelan state — created over the past two decades through successive political and economic crises — has been violently exposed by the earthquakes, said René Cedillo, a member of the Committee for the Freedom of Political Prisoners.

"The circumstances that the country is living through right now are very complex, very complicated, and one doesn't know — I wouldn't attempt to predict — what will happen," Cedillo said in a phone interview from Caracas, the country's capital.

"In this natural disaster, Venezuela has failed, the Venezuela state has failed, it is a failed state." 

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Cedillo said people close to him have suffered terrible losses — including his ex-partner, whose twin, teenage children were being tutored in math when the earth shook and collapsed the roof of the building. He said there were about 20 children in the building at the time and that about 11 children were killed, including his ex-partner’s daughter. The twin brother is now in hospital.

"It's so sad, but there are so many other similar cases," he said.

The Venezuelan government's latest tally puts the number of dead at about 1,450, the injured at 3,150 and the displaced at 12,771. About 774 buildings also collapsed, according to figures. 

The pain and shock of the aftermath have also propelled many Venezuelans to do whatever they can to help out — whether it's gathering supplies or digging through the rubble with their bare hands.

But Cedillo said this has brought them into conflict with government authorities. He said much of this has unfolded around the disaster areas of La Guaira, the coastal, northern state that suffered some of the worst impacts from the earthquakes.

"The friction is real, and it has been called out spontaneously by people," he said.

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The Venezuelan government has announced that it was restricting access to disaster zones in La Guaira to allow rescue workers to do their work unencumbered.

Cedillo said there is evidence that federal authorities blocked a state-level firefighter, driving an official vehicle, from entering the zone and detained two students who travelled from Colombia with electrical generators and cables for use in La Guaira.

There are several videos circulating on social media showing conflict between people and authorities.

Venezuela 🇻🇪: a civilians volunteer in La Guaira confronted national guardsmen of the regime for standing around, doing nothing, while civilians were left to do all the rescue works themselves.<br><br>'There are more rifles than shovels here.' <a href="https://t.co/T9Tx3mWHxu">pic.twitter.com/T9Tx3mWHxu</a>

While President Delcy Rodriguez has visited sites and made statements — along with her brother, Jorge Rodriguez, who is president of Venezuela's National Assembly — federal authorities appear to be ineffective and, in the case of the Venezuelan military, non-existent in the response to the earthquakes, Cedillo said.

"People are asking: Where is the army? Where is the army?" he said.

The aftermath of the earthquakes has created a volatile political mix that has heightened discontent with a Venezuelan government that now seems increasingly dependent on the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump to stay in power.

"The friction between the people and the government will grow," Cedillo said.

Zobeida Guzman lives in the Palos Grandes neighbourhood in Caracas, one of the hardest hit in the city by the two earthquakes.

A therapist who specializes in traditional Chinese medicine, Guzman worked from the apartment she’s lived in for more than 40 years. Now, structural concerns with her building mean she can't go back.

Guzman said the earthquake levelled a residential building around the corner from where she lives.

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Guzman said the current Venezuelan government has not only lost any remnants of support; it has also lost the respect of the people, which she believes could plunge the country into a "dangerous" place.

"Because when you don't respect anyone, when there is no one to lead and when there is no one to believe in during a situation like this one, it creates a lot of anxiety, a lot of pain, a lot of chaos and more damage," she said.

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