Venezuelan officials said Friday that last month’s twin earthquakes killed more than 5,000 people, as the country drew hundreds of millions of dollars from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to begin reconstruction.
The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes struck within a minute of each other on 24 June, devastating the coastal state of La Guaira north of Caracas.
National Assembly chief Jorge Rodriguez reported 5,069 deaths, with most casualties concentrated in the coastal region. Injuries remain at 16,740, though officials said many victims have already been discharged from hospitals, AFP reports.
Interim President Delcy Rodriguez later confirmed that Venezuela accessed $346 million from the IMF for recovery efforts. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the institution worked with “key counterparts” to help Venezuela tap its reserve tranche for urgent humanitarian needs.
Some 20,000 people displaced by the quakes are living in overcrowded camps, many without clean water or sanitation.
Venezuela holds 3.568 billion Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) — about $5.1 billion — at the Fund, previously frozen because the IMF did not recognize Nicolas Maduro as president.
Relations with the IMF and World Bank resumed in April after the United States ousted Maduro in a military incursion in January, ending a freeze that began in 2019.
