Rescue teams from 24 countries, including Israel, are still searching for tens of thousands of missing people after last week's earthquakes in Venezuela. Opposition leader María Corina Machado said Tuesday she intends to return to the country for the first time since fleeing last year.
Rescue teams from 24 nations, including an Israeli contingent, are continuing search operations for tens of thousands of people still missing after the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela last week. The international effort has grown rapidly: as The Zioneer reported on Sat. Jun. 27, 00:59 Jerusalem, the number of participating nations had swelled to 16; it now stands at 24.
Opposition leader María Corina Machado announced Tuesday she plans to return to Venezuela for the first time since secretly leaving last year to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway. This follows a sequence of statements the Desk has tracked since early Tuesday: at 01:03 Jerusalem, The Zioneer first reported Machado saying she was ready to do "whatever it takes" to enter the country, citing N12. In a later version that same hour, Machado—then in Panama—accused the Venezuelan government of blocking her return. The desk separately reported on Sat. Jun. 27, 22:18 Jerusalem that a senior U.S. official expressed frustration after Machado requested State Department assistance to return under cover of earthquake relief.
According to posts circulating on social media, the U.S. government is offering $25 million for information leading to the arrest of Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello Rondón, who is accused of drug trafficking. A video on X purportedly shows Cabello Rondón arguing with American rescue teams and attempting to prevent them from entering a certain area. The Zioneer previously reported that the U.S. pledged $150 million in aid to Venezuela (Thu. Jun. 25, 22:31 Jerusalem).
It remains unclear whether Machado's stated return plan will succeed, given her previous accusation that the government is blocking her entry, and whether the U.S. reward offer and the video of Cabello Rondón are independently confirmed.
3 developments
- DevelopingUS official expresses frustration after Venezuela opposition leader requests help to return
- DevelopingVenezuela: reports claim 68,900 still missing after earthquakes
- StrongInternational rescue effort for Venezuela earthquake swells to 16 nations
- ConfirmedUN reportedly preparing for up to 10,000 dead in Venezuela earthquake; missing count climbs to 46,000
Source and signal
- Internal intake