CATIA LA MAR, Venezuela — Venezuela’s U.S.-backed acting President Delcy Rodríguez on Thursday issued a fiery defense of her government’s response to last week’s devastating earthquakes, lashing out at critics who say authorities reacted too slowly, pushing back on suggestions that the true death toll is far higher than the government has acknowledged and rejecting accusations that the nation’s shoddily constructed social housing exacerbated the disaster.The self-described socialist government of Rodríguez, striving for legitimacy months after the United States removed former President Nicolás Maduro from power in January, has come under fire for what residents have described as a sluggish and haphazard response to the quakes.Residents of the hardest-hit state, La Guaira, complain that the absence of a serious government search-and-rescue operation immediately after the temblors left them alone to scour for neighbors and loved ones with their bare hands. Rescuers have lamented that the country’s shortages of specialized equipment slowed efforts to find survivors. Experts have noted that substandard construction of social housing projects — a hallmark of the tenure of former President Hugo Chávez — left many neighborhoods vulnerable to quakes.An aerial view Monday of buildings in Caraballeda, La Guaira state, that were destroyed by the quakes.Miguel Medina / AFP via Getty ImagesAt a news conference for foreign journalists in the capital of Caracas, Rodríguez, wearing a black ribbon as a symbol of mourning, refused to accept the criticism.“We did not wait one day, two days or three days. We activated immediately,” she said, lacing into journalists whom she accused of spreading misinformation. “To politicize a humanitarian tragedy like this — when the Venezuelan government and its authorities have spared no effort, public, private, national or international — is disgraceful.”Authorities have counted at least 2,295 people killed by the earthquake as of Wednesday — a number that is expected to rise. They did not offer an updated death toll on Thursday and have maintained tight control over public communications and relief efforts.Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, said authorities “activated immediately” after the quakes.Lucas Aguayo / AFP via Getty ImagesThe stench of decomposition hung heavy over streets of flattened buildings as efforts to find earthquake survivors increasingly turned to the recovery of corpses.Desperate for good news, Venezuelan and international emergency workers celebrated the near-miraculous rescue of a 43-year-old security guard found alive after nearly eight days under the rubble — five days beyond the critical 72-hour mark following a quake when experts say finding survivors is most likely.National broadcasters reran footage of the exuberant moment he was pried free from a collapsed mall and lifted onto a stretcher as crowds, including rescuers from 10 countries, embraced one another and cheered. Trapped in an air pocket beneath the concrete, Hernán Alberto Gil Flores survived on the food and water that rescuers managed to pass him through crevices.Rescue workers attending to Gil Flores after he was pulled from the rubble. Fernando Vergara / APElsewhere across the hardest-hit state of La Guaira, where thousands remain missing, an air of hopelessness was setting in. The port city of Catia La Mar, where Gil Flores was rescued, teemed with officials carrying body bags and stacking wooden coffins. Throughout the day, onlookers thronged international rescue teams as they scoured crumpled buildings in response to tips about possible survivors, retreating deflated when the crew’s seismic sensors detected no signs of life.More than 38,000 reports of missing people — many of them likely buried beneath the rubble — have been sent to a website set up by the Venezuelan opposition, as the government has not given official figures for those missing.01:34Volunteers help with search missions after earthquakes00:0000:00When one journalist asked Rodríguez about the true, still-unknown toll of the disaster, citing reports that the United Nations is procuring 10,000 body bags, Rodríguez defended the government’s tally.“We do not want to speculate,” she said. “The numbers we provide are rigorously verified.”Pressed on reports that residents were on their own in the first 48 hours after the quakes, with heavy machinery scarce and official aid nowhere to be found, Rodríguez acknowledged that “naturally, at the sites where the building collapsed, the first people to arrive were survivors of the collapse itself, relatives and neighbors.”But she railed against what she called “narratives manufactured in propaganda laboratories” and claimed that a day after the quakes, “we had already mobilized the full capacity of the Venezuelan state together with the private sector.”The disaster has evolved into the biggest test of competence yet for Rodríguez, who served as deputy to Maduro until his ouster and became interim leader with the backing of the Trump administration.Her comments Thursday came a day before the extension of her 180-day mandate as acting leader was set to expire.People searching for victims in La Guaira, Venezuela, last week.Jesus Vargas / Getty ImagesWith transparency scant across the Venezuelan government, it was unclear what would happen once the deadline passes Friday.Under Venezuela’s constitution, temporary absences are to be filled by the vice president — which was Rodríguez’s former role — for up to 90 days. These interim appointments can be extended by the National Assembly for an additional 90 days. The National Assembly, controlled by Rodríguez’s party, can trigger a snap election if lawmakers declare the post permanently vacant.In contrast to the aftermath of Venezuela’s catastrophic 1999 landslides, when then-President Chávez rejected offers of assistance from an adversarial U.S., Rodríguez has publicly welcomed aid and rescue teams from countries across the political spectrum — even those like Israel and Ecuador that have no diplomatic relations with Venezuela.In expressing thanks for the foreign help, Rodríguez singled out Israel as well as U.S. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, saying they “remained constantly attentive and offered support.” The U.S. has committed over $300 million and deployed some 900 military personnel to support rescue and relief efforts so far.