July 18 (Reuters) - Delayed orders from senior military commanders, a lack of basic equipment and overall confusion were among the issues that hindered the deployment of Venezuelan troops in the crucial first days after two devastating earthquakes struck the country's coast last month, eight sources familiar with the response told Reuters, amid public outrage over the government's response to the disaster.
The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes killed about 5,000 people, according to the government, though
experts including the United States Geological Survey have predicted a likelihood of a final death toll of nearly double that figure. The disaster was especially devastating in La Guaira state, home to the country's main airport, a major port and hundreds of high-rise residential buildings that collapsed either fully or partially.
Acting President Delcy Rodriguez, who is backed by U.S. President Donald Trump, has defended the government's response amid criticism that military personnel and other officials arrived late and have done little to help victims of the quake, including people who were trapped in the rubble.
Though Rodriguez said 4,000 officials were deployed immediately, military personnel and police were scarcely visible during the first hours after the quake, according to residents, Reuters witnesses and several sources with knowledge of the matter.
Civilians spearheaded much of the response, especially during the first two days, bringing aid like food and using rudimentary tools to pull both the living and the dead from the rubble. They were eventually joined by international rescue teams, firefighters, civil protection officials and a limited number of Venezuelan soldiers, who told Reuters they volunteered for the often-gruesome work rather than being directly ordered to.
The limited presence of security forces was due to delays in deployment orders, uncertainty over who was responsible for coordinating the crisis and a lack of relevant equipment, said active and retired military officers, other sources familiar with the armed forces and sources in the diplomatic community.
"We don't act on our own; we receive direct orders," said an active-duty officer who spoke on condition of anonymity. "I can't tell my unit, 'Let's go help in La Guaira,' if I haven't been ordered to do so. We didn't have a plan like the ones that exist for defending the nation. There was no plan for dealing with something like this."
A group of soldiers from the officer's unit traveled to La Guaira the day after the June 24 quakes after receiving orders to reinforce personnel there.
"We weren't going to leave without preparation or logistics because obviously nobody is prepared for something like this," the officer said. "The troops in Caracas should at least have been sent to provide security and help however they could."
Confusion prevailed, said a source familiar with diplomatic circles.
"There was no plan and the chain of command was weak; many people simply didn't know what to do," the source said. Delays in issuing orders also affected the deployment of international rescuers who had arrived within the first 48 hours, the source said, wasting critical time during which lives could have been saved.
"Everyone looks upward waiting for an order. They would rather do nothing than act and risk being reprimanded," the source said, describing delays in assigning search sectors to rescuers. "The loss of those hours was enormously frustrating."
"The Marine Infantry Brigade was ready to move but never received instructions to do so," said one source with knowledge of military issues.
Another military source said their unit did not have enough vehicles to move personnel to the quake zone, while three other sources said units lacked equipment as varied as hammers, pickaxes and helicopters equipped with night vision.
Another source said the vice minister in charge of disaster response arrived in La Guaira around midnight the day of the quake without communications equipment needed to relay the scale of the disaster.
'WE DIDN'T HAVE A PLAN'
Venezuela's Communications Ministry did not respond to a request for comment, but Rodriguez has vociferously defended her government's response.
Pressed by reporters on July 2 about who had given orders to the military, she said “media laboratories” had created a perception of chaos, though she provided no evidence. Days later she told a public event: "I gave the order, and I take responsibility for our Bolivarian National Armed Force."
Rodriguez named National Guard commander Juan Sulbaran Quintero as the "single authority" overseeing the response, while also issuing a decree granting powers to Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello.
Four sources said that overlapping authority created confusion over who was directing military and police operations, including debate about whether to deploy military police or the national police.
When La Guaira was hit by a huge mudslide in 1999, the military carried out a full-scale deployment, using boats and helicopters to rescue and evacuate survivors.
Sources said years of economic crisis have reduced military readiness, with budgets focused on payroll rather than maintenance and equipment.
"The armed forces have a concept known as operational readiness — the capacity to respond to threats and emergencies — but that readiness is limited," said one of the sources with knowledge of military issues.
The Venezuelan earthquakes struck on Army Day, a national holiday when many military personnel were off duty and away from their units.
"When the earthquakes hit, the strategic operational commander and the regional commander should have ordered an immediate recall of military personnel. That order never came," the source said.
The earthquake "was the moment for the military to distinguish itself," the active-duty officer said. "They should have been there at dawn with armored vehicles and cables pulling people out. The psychological impact would have been enormous — people seeing the troops helping. But we didn't have a plan."
(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Alistair Bell)
