Displaced earthquake survivors protest in Venezuela's La Guaira

Tension is escalating in La Guaira, Venezuela, as hundreds of earthquake survivors, displaced for ten days, protest their lack of permanent housing.

Residents, many sleeping in the streets next to their damaged buildings, blocked the main access road to Caraballeda, a town near the earthquake's epicenter. They are demanding the government fulfill its promise to relocate them to the Las Caracas hotel complex.

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We have been in the street for more than ten days, with children, with adults.

"We have been in the street for more than ten days, with children, with adults," said José Guillén, a 32-year-old resident of the OPPE 30 building. This 13-story structure, though still standing, has severely damaged interiors, with collapsed floors visible. Families are living in makeshift conditions on the street, using salvaged belongings.

After the protest, police and Tupamara collectives intervened, helping families board buses to a temporary shelter. Meanwhile, residents in La Guaira whose homes are damaged but not destroyed complain of receiving no assistance. The double earthquake, with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5, has left an official toll of 2,645 dead and over 12,600 injured. Authorities estimate 15,000 people are homeless, with 885 buildings affected and 189 completely collapsed.

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Where is the government? What we want is for them to at least come and say: get on the buses.