00:00At his office in Port of Spain, Venezuela's ambassador to Trinidad and Tobago, Alvaro Enrique Sanchez, spoke about a voice
00:07note he received from his daughter while the two back-to-back devastating earthquakes shook Venezuela.
00:14So my daughter was sending us, absolutely terrified, sending us a message, a voice message on WhatsApp during the earthquake
00:26telling us that she was seeing that other building, pieces of the other building falling and the whole building shaking
00:36and she was just petrified and thought that the building was going to collapse on her.
00:42Our building, it was shaking of course, but it didn't look like it was going to go anywhere or at
00:49least it wasn't showing so many signs of destruction and indeed it was safe.
00:54In video provided by Express Senior Photographer Robert Taylor, Venezuela's ambassador expressed gratitude for the safety of his daughter in
01:02their family home in Caracas as he acknowledged the devastation earthquakes caused in his homeland and the response from the
01:10international community.
01:12Receiving such a heartfelt embracing solidarity is really encouraging to us.
01:26And of course Trinidad and Tobago has not been the exception, on the contrary, I would say it's exceptional, again,
01:32both from the government and also from civil society, private sector, organizations and so on.
01:39Ambassador Sanchez pointed out that Venezuela's embassy in Port of Spain has been functioning as a collection point for relief
01:46supplies since Monday, June 29th.
01:49In the first day, just Monday, we received over two tons of aid. Just food, just canned food was one
01:59ton.
01:59Venezuela's ambassador also gave an update on the public-private sector donation drive initiated on the instruction of Prime Minister
02:07Kamlo Passat-Besessa.
02:09Of course the Trinidad and Tobago government as well, they are organizing a massive relief effort that combines not only
02:21the actual items from all over the country,
02:25but also a bank account that the government has set up for the relief of Venezuela.
02:35And so it's a massive organization. It's a very coordinated organization.
02:39In the next few days, a Coast Guard vessel will be going to Venezuela to deliver all these items.
02:51The latest update provided by Venezuela's National Assembly on Wednesday stated that the death toll from the two earthquakes last
02:58week on June 24th had risen to 2,295 while 11,267 people were injured.
03:07Fortunately, my relatives are fine, but in shock nonetheless.
03:12But knowing that you have friends of friends, relatives of friends, and personal friends who have lost many things is
03:22really heartbreaking.
03:23But as I said, this is one more challenge that we have in front of us, and we are reconforted
03:31by the solid international support and solidarity.
03:38Ambassador Sanchez said the response from Trinidad and Tobago has been overwhelming and inspiring.
03:44Jewel Brown, TV6 News
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