'We didn't wait': Rodriguez rebuts criticism of Venezuela's quake relief as death toll rises to 2595

Venezuela's Interim President Delcy Rodriguez vehemently denied on Thursday (July 2) that her government reacted too slowly to destruction caused by two earthquakes which devastated the country's northern coast, killing more than 2,000 people, after days of widespread criticism of the official response effort. Rodriguez said her government issued an emergency decree to activate civil protection and emergency protocols within hours of the tremors, which struck last Wednesday at 7.2- and 7.5-magnitudes, less than a minute apart.