Death toll from Venezuela’s twin quakes rises to 3,889

Victims of the powerful twin earthquakes that jolted Venezuela last month as well as people spared by the destruction on Thursday flooded relief services offered by nongovernmental organizations in the hardest-hit areas.

Venezuela has opened more than 80 shelters for those whose homes were destroyed in twin quakes ‌on June 24, with the number of displaced reaching 17,907 by Thursday.

Interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez renewed calls on Wednesday for international sanctions to be lifted to assist recovery efforts following increasingly stringent sanctions imposed by the US, the European Union, and other countries over the last two decades.

The stench in the coastal Venezuelan community of La Guaira is an impossible one to forget, even nearly a week after returning to the United States.