Venezuela is struggling to cope with the aftermath of the deadly twin earthquakes that struck the country, with the official death count still rising. As of Wednesday, at least 2,295 people were reported killed, an increase of around 300 from the previous day’s update.

Concerns Over Death Toll Accuracy

A forensic pathologist, who wished to remain anonymous due to fear of retaliation, believes the government’s death toll is a vast undercount, amounting to ‘not even a third of what is actually there.’ The pathologist works in a makeshift morgue in the port city of La Guaira, an area badly impacted by the quakes, where they are processing around 400 bodies a day.

Opposition politicians, such as María Corina Machado, have accused the government of downplaying the level of destruction. Venezuelans abroad have created unofficial avenues to report missing people, as the government has not yet provided an official figure.

The United Nations’ coordinator for Venezuela, Gianluca Rampolla del Tindaro, stated that the number of deaths is likely higher than the one reported. The Venezuelan government has not provided an estimate of its own for the final number of deceased.

International Response and Criticism

Critics see the official number as evidence that the Venezuelan government is trying to purposefully undercount earthquake deaths. The government has said it is taking stock of the number of people within the most affected areas at the time of the earthquakes.

David Smilde, a sociologist at Tulane University and Venezuela expert, is unconvinced that the government would purposefully misstate or downplay figures when the tragedy’s magnitude has brought in so much aid.

Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.