Venezuela’s government called for the release of frozen assets on Wednesday to help raise funds for the country’s recovery from last month’s twin earthquakes that killed at least 3,600 people.
“We call upon all countries currently holding blocked funds belonging to Venezuela to initiate a plan to release these funds so that they can be used for recovery efforts,” Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto told a meeting of UN officials and partners.
“There are accounts belonging to the Venezuelan state in various parts of the world that have been frozen as a result of illegal sanctions.”
Gil referenced gold held by the United Kingdom and finances frozen by the United States.
The US government has already lifted a number of economic sanctions against Venezuela for four months to facilitate relief operations.
Washington had imposed sweeping economic sanctions on Venezuela, particularly from 2019 onward, in an effort to squeeze the leftist government of president Nicolás Maduro, whom the United States considered illegitimate.
Since US forces toppled Maduro in January, ties with Caracas have improved.
The Trump administration has supported interim President Delcy Rodríguez and has gradually eased sanctions, particularly to facilitate the development of Venezuela’s huge oil reserves.
Nearly two weeks after the 7.3 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes, international rescue teams are ending attempts to find survivors while families scour the ruins for the bodies of their loved ones.
The government updated the death toll on Tuesday to 3,685 and said nearly 17,000 were injured.
Urgent appeal
Meanwhile, the United Nations launched an urgent appeal on Wednesday to raise $296 million (€259 million) for earthquake relief operations.
There is huge humanitarian need after one of Latin America’s worst earthquake disasters left thousands of people homeless and thousands more still missing, especially in badly damaged La Guaira, where families are still digging in the rubble.
“Donors are already stepping up and I pay tribute to them and I thank them,” UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said during a meeting on the disaster.
“Already, based on the tracking system, the Venezuela response has received $300 million (€263 million) and I appreciate every single dollar of that support, including $115 million (€100 million) received before the earthquake. This leaves us now with a $627 million (€549 million) funding gap to address those urgent needs.
“We do have a clear plan. $296 million needed to reach 1.3 million in socioeconomic need right now over six months. It’s a time-bound plan.”
Additional sources • AFP