Quake is devastating blow at time of uncertainty

Rodríguez addressed the nation on state television channel VTV more than two hours after the quakes. Prior to that, official information had been very scant, no doubt due to the fact that communication channels to some of the worst affected areas were down. But it is also a result of restrictions placed on independent media under the Maduro government, which have led to the closure of hundreds of mainly local radio stations and news sites, which in the past would have been key to providing localised updates. Rodríguez was flanked by her brother Jorge, who in his role as president of the National Assembly swore her into office as interim president just days after Maduro was seized, and by Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, another staunch Maduro ally. Unlike he so often did in the months leading up to the US military intervention, Cabello was not wearing military fatigues. He stood silently next to Rodríguez, as did her brother. Rodríguez was visibly shaken as she delivered her speech, in which she called "first and foremost" for unity from the Venezuelan people, who for more than a decade have been deeply divided between those who supported Maduro, and his predecessor and mentor Hugo Chávez, and those who opposed him. She also declared a state of emergency and tasked General Juan Ernesto Sulbarán, the commander of Venezuela's National Guard, with leading the emergency response. …