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Venezuela’s Institutions Had Fallen before the Buildings

Those who design a nation as a prison can hardly understand the duty to help and rescue.

By Karina Sainz Borgo (Confidencial)

HAVANA TIMES – The earth shook in Venezuela—twice. It did so with such force that it fractured what remained of a State that had already been reduced to rubble. Shocked by the complete absence of authorities and abandoned in their desperation, citizens took to the streets to rescue their loved ones. Without civil protection brigades, without firefighters, and without heavy equipment, they relied solely on their own hands until they were stripped raw. During the first 48 hours, they searched blindly for both the living and the dead. Now, as the fourth day arrives, the full magnitude of the tragedy has become impossible to ignore.

An earthquake is a natural event. But what happens before and after is political. If there are no rescue units, if there are too few firefighters, if infrastructure........

© Havana Times