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US-led relief effort puts Washington’s post-Maduro strategy in Venezuela to the test
Washington’s swift disaster response clearest indication yet of how relationship with Caracas has evolved, but bigger challenges lie ahead
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Teresa Elena Frontadoin Washington
The United States is mounting a large-scale humanitarian operation in Venezuela after twin earthquakes devastated the South American country, putting to the test Washington’s role as the most influential international partner in the country’s post-Maduro transition.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was deploying search-and-rescue teams, military logistics and humanitarian help after Wednesday’s magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes, which have killed at least 164 people and injured nearly 1,000.
Washington also announced US$150 million in help to the South American country, to be disbursed through assistance partners on the ground.
Since a US operation removed Nicolas Maduro from power earlier this year and brought him to the United States to face trial, senior American civilian and military officials have made repeated visits to Caracas, working closely with interim president Delcy Rodriguez on security cooperation, economic recovery and the return of US oil companies.
The devastating earthquake now provides the first major test of how that partnership performs under the pressure of a national emergency.
“This earthquake is the first real test of whether the post-January relationship has institutional depth beyond oil,” said Orlando J. Perez, a political scientist at the University of North Texas at Dallas.
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