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A military transport aircraft Boeing C-17 Globemaster III from the United States Air Force landed this Friday in Venezuela with the first air shipment of equipment intended for two specialized urban search and rescue teams that will be integrated into the relief operations following the devastating earthquakes on June 24.
The U.S. Embassy in Caracas confirmed the arrival of the material and specified that the equipment—originating from Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles County, California—is being positioned to head to the areas most affected as operational conditions allow.
Each of the two groups comprises about 80 specialists: firefighters, doctors, and structural engineers, along with 12 trained canines for detecting people beneath rubble.
The first airlift of equipment has arrived to support the two specialized search and rescue teams from the U.S., which are arriving in Venezuela to integrate into operations on the ground as soon as possible.
"With around 80 experts per team — firefighters, doctors, structural engineers — and 12 trained canines for rubble detection, these groups provide advanced capabilities to locate survivors and assist in complex emergencies," the embassy noted on its official account.
On Thursday night, Major General Kevin J. Jarrard of the U.S. Marine Corps arrived in Caracas to coordinate on-site the efforts of South Command (SOUTHCOM), becoming the highest-ranking officer of that military structure to operate on Venezuelan soil in decades.
"With speed, precision, and unmatched logistical capability, teams from the U.S. are being deployed to support response operations following the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela. We remain committed to Venezuela," the embassy stated while announcing their arrival.
The deployment also includes C-130 aircraft, CH-47 Chinook helicopters mobilized from Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras, and MV-22 Osprey aircraft from the Marines.
The U.S. response comes in the wake of a catastrophe of historic proportions. The earthquakes measuring 7.2 and 7.5 that shook Venezuela on June 24, with only 39 seconds apart and epicenters in the Yaracuy state, resulted in an official toll of 589 dead and 2,980 injured, as confirmed by interim president Delcy Rodríguez, a figure that tripled in just 24 hours.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) rated the 7.5 earthquake as the strongest recorded in Venezuela since 1900 and issued its maximum-level Red Alert.
At least 346 buildings, hospitals, and shopping centers have collapsed or suffered severe damage, and more than 200 aftershocks have been recorded. The state of La Guaira, declared a disaster area, is where the worst damage is concentrated.
President Donald Trump authorized 150 million dollars in humanitarian aid for Venezuela, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio set a critical window of 48 to 72 hours to locate survivors under the rubble.
In an unprecedented diplomatic turn, Rodríguez publicly thanked Trump and Rubio for their support, something unthinkable under the government of Nicolás Maduro, who openly rejected humanitarian aid from Washington in 2019.
The USAR teams from Fairfax and Los Angeles are elite units certified by the UN International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG), with experience in disasters such as the Haiti earthquake in 2010 and the Champlain Towers building collapse in Surfside, Florida, in 2021.
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