Venezuela called on countries holding its frozen assets to release the funds to support recovery efforts following last month's devastating earthquakes that killed at least 3,600 people.

Addressing a meeting of UN officials and international partners on July 8, Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto urged governments to make the assets available for reconstruction, Caliber.Az reports, citing Euronews.

"There are accounts belonging to the Venezuelan state in various parts of the world that have been frozen as a result of illegal sanctions," he noted.

Gil specifically referred to Venezuelan gold reserves held by the United Kingdom and assets frozen by the United States.

Washington has already eased several economic sanctions on Venezuela for four months to facilitate humanitarian and relief operations.

The United States imposed broad economic restrictions on Venezuela, particularly after 2019, as part of efforts to pressure the government of President Nicolás Maduro, which Washington regarded as illegitimate.

Relations with Caracas have improved since U.S. forces removed Maduro from power in January.

The administration of President Donald Trump has backed interim President Delcy Rodríguez and gradually relaxed sanctions, particularly to support the development of Venezuela's vast oil reserves.

Nearly two weeks after the magnitude 7.3 and 7.5 earthquakes struck the country, international rescue teams have largely ended efforts to locate survivors, while families continue searching through the rubble for missing relatives.

Authorities updated the death toll to 3,685 on July 7 and said almost 17,000 people had been injured.

Meanwhile, the United Nations launched an emergency appeal on July 8 seeking $296 million (€259 million) to support relief efforts.

Humanitarian needs remain immense after one of Latin America's deadliest earthquake disasters left thousands homeless and many others still unaccounted for, particularly in the heavily damaged region of La Guaira, where residents continue digging through debris.

"Donors are already stepping up and I pay tribute to them and I thank them," UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher said during a meeting on the disaster.

"Already, based on the tracking system, the Venezuela response has received $300 million (€263 million) and I appreciate every single dollar of that support, including $115 million (€100 million) received before the earthquake. This leaves us now with a $627 million (€549 million) funding gap to address those urgent needs. We do have a clear plan. $296 million needed to reach 1.3 million in socioeconomic need right now over six months. It's a time-bound plan," he added.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov

Source: caliber.az