JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Juana Summers. In Venezuela, anger is rising over the government's slow and chaotic response to last week's two earthquakes. But as John Otis reports, Venezuela's acting president blames the media.
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JOHN OTIS, BYLINE: These earthquake survivors in the town of Caraballeda are furious. That's because a government bureaucrat is trying to take away a generator next to a collapsed building. It provides electricity for lights and power tools needed to search for survivors. The official says it needs maintenance and that she'll bring it right back. But no one believes her.
INGRID OCHOA: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: Ingrid Ochoa, whose aunt and cousin are still buried in the debris, says that without power, there will be no way to look for them.
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: Since the twin earthquakes hit nine days ago, many disaster relief experts and quake victims have lambasted the government for its response. The armed forces, the country's largest institution, which is also in charge of civil defense, were slow to deploy. Government red tape and a lack of heavy machinery have left many Venezuelans to dig for survivors with their bare hands. Amid this crisis, Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela's U.S.-backed acting president, has mostly avoided tough questions.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: But last night, she met with about 100 foreign correspondents who are covering the earthquake.
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ACTING PRES DELCY RODRÍGUEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: She spent most of her time going through an exhaustive list of actions taken by her administration to the applause of government ministers.
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RODRÍGUEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: "We mobilized immediately," she said. "Within the first 48 hours, we had 11,000 people on the ground."
But the journalists pushed back.
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UNIDENTIFIED JOURNALIST: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: This one said, "we've talked with many victims, and none of them agrees with what you say."
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RODRÍGUEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: But rather than owning up to mistakes, Rodríguez accused the media of making things up and said that some journalists are just, quote, "wretched."
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RODRÍGUEZ: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: "Show me someone who has been denied access to aid," she said. "That does not exist."
Indeed, most victims do appear to be receiving assistance, but it's the chaos and lack of planning that has them fuming.
BARBARA GUERRERO: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: Back in the disaster zone, Barbara Guerrero is desperate to find her parents, who are buried under a collapsed building. There's a government backhoe parked a block away, but it hasn't moved all day.
GUERRERO: (Speaking Spanish).
OTIS: "It's just sitting there," Guerrero says. "We need to remove rubble, but they won't let us use it."
For NPR News, I'm John Otis in Caraballeda, Venezuela. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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