Venezuela earthquake is further blow at time of uncertainty

With the number of people killed in the powerful twin quakes which struck Venezuela on Wednesday still rising, there is no doubt that this natural disaster is a devastating blow to a country already mired in uncertainty. It has been less than six months since Nicolás Maduro, the left-wing leader who had ruled the country since 2013, was seized by US forces in a dawn raid on his presidential compound in the capital, Caracas, and taken to New York to stand trial on drug-trafficking charges. Venezuela has since been governed by Maduro's ally and former vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez, much to the chagrin of opposition supporters who had hoped the Trump administration would put opposition leader María Corina Machado in charge. Rodríguez's response to the quake has revealed some of the things which have - and have not - changed since the January raid, as well as the many challenges facing the country's battered infrastructure. Rodríguez addressed the nation on state television channel VTV more than two hours after the quakes. Prior to that, official information had been very scant, no doubt due to the fact that communication channels to some of the worst affected areas were down. But it