Two days after the devastating earthquakes that struck Venezuela on June 24, the international community is launching an unprecedented humanitarian response, with over a thousand rescuers from 16 countries, hundreds of millions of dollars committed, and specialized teams with dogs, drones, and forensic doctors, reported the news agency EFE.
The United Nations confirmed this Friday that teams are already on the ground or about to arrive. The official toll, confirmed by acting President Delcy Rodríguez, stands at 589 dead and 2,980 injured, figures that have tripled in just 24 hours.
The International Organization for Migration estimates that up to 6.76 million people were affected by the earthquakes.
The United States is leading the financial effort with 150 million dollars authorized by Trump, with 100 million directed to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and 50 million to organizations on the ground.
U.S. Southern Command deployed a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft with two urban rescue teams, each consisting of 80 specialists, coming from Fairfax (Virginia) and Los Angeles (California), along with 12 trained dogs.
The International Federation of the Red Cross launched an emergency appeal for 50 million Swiss francs (61 million dollars) and has already dispatched the first 17 tons of supplies from Panama — kitchen kits, hygiene items, and mosquito nets — to Venezuela.
On the ground, teams arrived from all continents. El Salvador sent six planes with 300 rescuers, of which 188 had already landed this Friday, along with 150 tons of machinery, highlighted the interim president through her X account.
She also highlighted in another tweet that the first rescuers from the Dominican Republic were on their way.
Mexico deployed 18 specialized canine units, 261 agents from the Army, Air Force, and National Guard, along with more than seven tons of tools and medical supplies.
Spain allocated an A330 aircraft from the Air Force with 59 military personnel from the Military Emergency Unit, eight canine units, and equipment from the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation. Vice President Carlos Cuerpo also announced an additional one million euros through multilateral institutions.
Switzerland contributed 80 specialists and 18 tons of material. Brazil sent 36 firefighters with equipment to set up a field hospital. India dispatched two planes from its Air Force with over 35 tons of medical supplies. Chile added 37 specialists with regional seismic experience, and Argentina provided rescuers, doctors, ambulances, and planes.
Around twenty hospitals in states such as La Guaira, Miranda, Aragua, Carabobo, and Zulia were damaged, prompting the government to request three emergency medical teams with surgical capability from the UN.
The UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Tom Fletcher, warned that the organization was already assisting eight million Venezuelans before the earthquakes.
"The situation on the ground is one of truly terrifying devastation," he stated, adding, "We are fully mobilized, every hour counts, and we will save as many lives as we can."
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