Impunity Under Debris: Corruption and the Right to Life in Seismic Catastrophes

Corruption in public housing construction and a lack of criminal investigations following Venezuela's June earthquake may constitute a violation of the right to life, according to a study by human rights lawyer Juan Carlos Gutiérrez. The investigation, exclusively obtained by El Nacional, is titled "Impunity under Debris: Corruption and the Right to Life in Seismic Catastrophes."

Gutiérrez comparatively analyzes earthquakes in Haiti (2010), Turkey (2023), and Venezuela (2026). His research aims to demonstrate that the scale of human tragedies is influenced not only by the natural phenomenon's intensity but also by decisions made before and after the disaster. The study posits that the lethality observed in these events is a result of the interplay between systemic corruption, weak regulations, and deficits in technical oversight during construction.

Employing a legal-dogmatic methodology supplemented by primary sources, institutional reports, specialized literature, and international human rights jurisprudence, Gutiérrez identifies three distinct types of institutional failure. These include regulatory omission and misappropriation of reconstruction funds in Haiti; selective criminal prosecution with persistent official impunity in Turkey; and the systematic disregard for existing seismic-resistant standards within a context of structural corruption in Venezuela.

Based on this analysis, Gutiérrez argues that "corruption in construction and in the management of public works can constitute a breach of the State's positive obligations regarding the protection of the right to life," as interpreted by the European Court of Human Rights and the Inter-American human rights system. He emphasizes that earthquakes themselves do not solely cause human catastrophes; rather, the extent of damage is largely determined by prior decisions in design, regulation, construction, supervision, and maintenance of civil works, as well as the institutional response after the event. The study highlights that when buildings are erected with substandard materials and without technical controls, the consequences can be devastating.