Venezuelan officials steer post‑earthquake recovery as chavista groups protest U.S. and Israeli aid

More than 20 environmental groups, academic representatives and government officials met in Caraballeda, La Guaira, for the second post‑earthquake forum. Minister for Ecosocialism Nelson Rodríguez highlighted the need to integrate community proposals into a recovery plan that protects the regional ecosystem. Other participants included Vice‑Minister Mailing Perdomo, National Parks manager Carola Herrera, and deputy Oliver Rivas, who stressed legal incorporation of popular initiatives.

Meanwhile, chavista community organizations staged a second protest in Caracas’ Plaza Bolívar, burning U.S. and Israeli flags and chanting slogans such as “Gringos, go home.” Demonstrators condemned the arrival of American military rescue teams and an Israeli medical‑engineering delegation that were sent after the June 24 earthquakes – the strongest in a century that killed more than 5,500 people. The protests marked the first visible opposition within the ruling movement to foreign assistance in nearly two decades.