Twin earthquakes have killed at least 1,450 Venezuelans and left thousands missing under rubble that never should have collapsed — and now Washington is writing a $300 million check while the socialist government that let its buildings rot restricts access to the disaster zone.

The 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude quakes that struck La Guaira state last Wednesday destroyed or damaged more than 770 buildings — a figure that doubled between Friday and Sunday, according to AP News. That kind of structural failure doesn't happen in a functioning country. It happens after decades of socialist mismanagement hollow out everything from building codes to the public health system, which AP reported was already short on supplies before the earth moved.

Now the same government that ran Venezuela into the ground is patrolling disaster zones with more than 14,000 military and police, requiring special permits to enter. AP reported that many Venezuelans said they had seen little sign of their government since the quakes, with civilian-led rescue efforts overshadowing the official response. Venezuelans have turned to non-governmental digital databases to report missing loved ones, with more than 50,000 people reported missing on one such database. The government can't even keep cell service running.

The Guardian highlighted the international rescue efforts and the $300 million the U.S. has now pledged — doubled from an initial $150 million. U.S. Marines are working to repair the port of La Guaira, and the USS Fort Lauderdale has docked to assist. China, for its part, pledged $14.7 million — a fraction of the American commitment, consistent with Beijing's pattern of big talk and thin wallets.

Meanwhile, rescuers are still pulling survivors from the wreckage. A 21-year-old man, Aaron Levi Cantillo Vargas, was found alive after 106 hours trapped under rubble in Caraballeda, according to acting president Delcy Rodríguez. Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele posted that teams from El Salvador, Mexico, and Venezuela were working to free him, with a doctor getting fluids to him through the debris. CNN reported that a 60-year-old woman, Belkys Josefina Barreto García, was rescued after 86 hours. She knocked on stones with a piece of metal to alert crews. "I saw the light, I literally saw the light," she said. "I was reborn."

Not everyone gets that chance. Argentine footballer Lucas Trejo searched for his wife and two children for three days before rescue workers recovered their bodies.

The Norwegian Refugee Council's Beatriz Ochoa told CNN that access to toilets, showers, and basic supplies remains limited, and that schools being used as shelters need to return to their purpose so children can regain normality. Venezuela's education ministry says all schools will stay closed until at least June 6.

AP noted the growing criticism from Venezuelans that the government response was inadequate. The Guardian and CNN largely framed around international aid and rescue heroics, with CNN giving significant airtime to emotional survivor stories while burying the government's failure to meet its own people's basic needs.

The question isn't whether Venezuelans are suffering — they are, grievously. The question is whether $300 million in American taxpayer money routed through a socialist regime that couldn't keep its buildings standing constitutes relief or just another blank check with no accountability and no exit.