Venezuelan police officers arrested over alleged looting after earthquakes

Rescue operations continue on Wednesday in the Playa Grande area of La Guaira state, among the hardest-hit locations. Photograph: Diko Betancourt/Anadolu/Getty Images View image in fullscreen Rescue operations continue on Wednesday in the Playa Grande area of La Guaira state, among the hardest-hit locations. Photograph: Diko Betancourt/Anadolu/Getty Images Venezuelan police officers arrested over alleged looting after earthquakes Anger at authorities and government grows as local people, volunteers and rescue teams continue search for survivors Four Venezuelan police officers have been arrested and are facing dismissal after being accused of looting cash from the rubble of a building that collapsed during last week’s devastating twin earthquakes . Local people and national and international rescue teams continue to search for survivors in the aftermath of the back-to-back quakes, which have killed almost 2,000 people, injured more than 10,000, and left tens of thousands missing. Wednesday briefing: After two powerful earthquakes, what is the reality on the ground in Venezuela? Read more Videos circulating on social media showed angry people trying to stop members of the scientific, penal and criminalistic investigation service corps (CICPC) helping themselves to a safe full of dollars from a ruined building in the hard-hit state of La Guaira. In a statement, the CICPC said four officers had been arrested and relieved of their duties, and disciplinary action for their “immediate dismissal” had begun. “In light of the recent events in the areas affected by the earthquakes in La Guaira state, it was confirmed that a group of officers, deviating from their duties and taking advantage of the rescue and humanitarian aid efforts, acted improperly by appropriating valuables found among the rubble,” the statement said. “This individual conduct, reprehensible and contrary to the fundamental values ​​of our doctrine, directly undermines the institution’s prestige and public respect.” View image in fullscreen Hopes of finding more survivors in La Guaira are dwindling. Photograph: Diko Betancourt/Anadolu/Getty Images Although a three-year-old boy was pulled alive from the rubble of a building in La Guaira on Tuesday, hopes of finding more survivors are dwindling. Meanwhile, public anger over the slow pace of the government’s rescue effort – and over the conduct of some members of the military and police – is growing. Volunteers, many of them equipped with little more than with shovels, ropes and their bare hands, say they are doing everything they can to locate survivors while, they say, some Venezuelan military and police personnel are looting, blocking aid and co-opting donations. On Wednesday hundreds of volunteers were still streaming into La Guaira, the disaster’s ground zero, to offer their support. “We want to do everything we can to help,” said Fabiano Nadales, 35, a volunteer from the city of Valencia who was travelling on the back of a pickup truck