Rescuers work amid collapsed buildings and rubble in La Guaira, Venezuela. Photo: Jesús Vargas/Getty Images.
The acting president of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, ruled out the rumors that the victims of the June 24 double earthquake will be placed in mass graves and ordered a rigorous forensic protocol for their identification.
“No one will go to a mass grave,” asserted the acting president, adding that an exhaustive file was ordered to be opened for each corpse, when asked about the issue on Thursday, July 2, at a press conference with national and international media.
She provided a detailed report on the humanitarian and legal operations carried out by the Venezuelan State in the state of La Guaira, the region worst hit by the double earthquake.
Rodríguez was categorical in pointing out the guidelines given to forensic and judicial authorities to ensure the dignity of the victims and the peace of their families.
The recognition protocol includes a rigorous order of scientific methods: first, identification by fingerprint and photographic record. In cases where this is not possible, forensic doctors will proceed to evaluate the forensic dentition. Rodríguez reported that this mechanism has allowed multiple families to retrieve their loved ones, and they have opted in some cases for cremation and in others for legal burial.
Venezuela Activates Caracas La Guaira Air Bridge for Post-Quake Aid
Rodríguez prioritized the handling of the fatalities and clarified the nature of the material damages to the housing infrastructure of the coastal state.
The acting president emphasized that, since the beginning of the emergency, a morgue has been activated in a specialized site in La Guaira, under the strict application of national laws and international protocols for handling corpses in natural disaster situations. In this process, the National Service of Medicine and Forensic Sciences (SENAMECF), part of the Ministry of the Interior, Justice, and Peace; the Attorney General’s Office; and the Civil Registry of Venezuela are coordinating.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC
