We are in awe of Venezuela’s first responders and all the brave citizens still pulling survivors from under the rubble of some 770 buildings that collapsed in last Wednesday’s double earthquakes. Is the sudden collapsing of so many structures – many built during the boom years of high oil prices – a tipping point for a nation under sanctions that has been dogged by decades of eroding services and infrastructure? Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuelan interim president of a regime in survival mode, was booed copiously Saturday in Caracas as many accuse the successor of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro of putting security before disaster relief.
In this edition, we ask how best the international community can help Venezuela and take a look at the dozens of US forces airlifting in supplies and helping coordinate air traffic – an unexpected turnaround as Washington was once the sworn enemy of Caracas. But US President Donald Trump has claimed the locals are "dancing in the streets" now that he’s removed former Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and the oil’s flowing his way. If this is truly a turning point, then what kind of turning point is it?
Produced by François Picard, Rebecca Gnignati, Juliette Laffont, Ilayda Habip, Charles Wente.
