THE earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24th killed more than 2,000 people, by the official count(据官方统计). Many more are listed as missing, and the UN has ordered 10,000 body bags. But the true toll(死亡人数；代价) will probably never be known. After decades of brutal kleptocracy, Venezuela is no longer the kind of country where bodies are properly counted.(经过数十年的残暴盗贼统治，委内瑞拉已不再是一个能够妥善统计尸体的国家。)
6月24日袭击委内瑞拉的地震，据官方统计已造成2000多人死亡。还有更多人被列为失踪，联合国已订购了1万个尸袋。但真实的死亡人数可能永远无法知晓。经过数十年的残暴盗贼统治，委内瑞拉已不再是一个能够妥善统计尸体的国家。
The regime’s response to the disaster has been dismal(糟糕的；令人沮丧的). In La Guaira(拉瓜伊拉州), the worst-hit state, survivors say no official help came in the first 48 hours—the crucial period when there is the best chance that people trapped under fallen buildings might still be breathing. Families were left to scrabble(翻找；扒寻) for their loved ones in heaps of dust and broken concrete. Heavy machinery for moving the rubble was slow to come and sometimes lacked fuel. Some rescue teams had no torches. The stench of rotting corpses is now pervasive. Injured survivors who make it to hospital(设法到达医院) find the wards short-staffed and ill-equipped. The regime, which is as incompetent as it is authoritarian, has been slow to distribute aid.(这个既无能又专制的政权，在分发援助方面行动迟缓。)
该政权对灾难的应对非常糟糕。在受灾最严重的拉瓜伊拉州，幸存者称在最初的48小时——这个关键时期是被困在倒塌建筑物下的人最有可能仍有呼吸的时段——没有任何官方援助。家人只能自己动手在尘土和碎混凝土堆中寻找亲人。搬运废墟的重型机械来得缓慢，有时还缺少燃料。一些救援队连手电筒都没有。腐烂尸体的气味现在四处弥漫。受伤幸存者设法到达医院后，发现病房人手不足、装备匮乏。这个既无能又专制的政权，在分发援助方面行动迟缓。
Since January, when Donald Trump sent military forces to capture Venezuela’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro(尼古拉斯·马杜罗), Venezuela’s problems have become America’s, too. President Trump replaced Mr Maduro with his more biddable(顺从的；听话的) deputy, Delcy Rodríguez, and has boasted that he now runs the country through her. That is an exaggeration(夸张；夸大), but America does directly control Venezuela’s oil revenues, and Ms Rodríguez must to some degree co-operate with Uncle Sam if she wishes to avoid her predecessor’s fate.(罗德里格斯女士如果想避免前任的命运，就必须在某种程度上与美国合作。) (He is stuck in an American prison.)
自1月份唐纳德·特朗普派遣军队抓捕委内瑞拉独裁者尼古拉斯·马杜罗以来，委内瑞拉的问题也成了美国的问题。特朗普总统用更听话的副手德尔西·罗德里格斯取代了马杜罗，并吹嘘自己现在通过她来统治这个国家。这有些夸张，但美国确实直接控制着委内瑞拉的石油收入，而罗德里格斯女士如果想避免前任的命运，就必须在某种程度上与美国合作。（马杜罗正关在美国监狱里。）