US military aids Venezuela’s earthquake relief effort

U.S. service members are operating in Venezuela to deliver aid and support search-and-rescue efforts after two devastating earthquakes on June 24.

The amphibious transport dock USS Fort Lauderdale is berthed at La Guaira Port, where it is serving as a critical communications and distribution hub and a vital medical support platform. U.S. forces have delivered water, food and other humanitarian relief supplies to locations including Simón Bolívar International Airport, where they are also conducting airfield management, air traffic coordination, communications and security missions.

Air Force cargo planes transported U.S. urban search and rescue teams to assist with the U.S. government’s earthquake relief response, which is being led by the State Department. Planning of additional U.S. military support is ongoing in close coordination with the State Department, the Venezuelan government, and other partners and allies contributing to the international relief effort.

Imagery from the operation shows Marines helping conduct search and rescue alongside Venezuelan personnel in La Guaira on June 28; a Marine Corps UH-1Y Venom helicopter crew chief surveying areas in support of earthquake response on the same day; and Marines assigned to the Littoral Combat Force-24 unloading water and food from an MV-22B Osprey at Simón Bolívar International Airport near Caracas on June 29. Additional photos depict Marines and sailors offloading disaster-relief supplies at La Guaira Port on June 27 and Airmen from the 621st Contingency Response Wing moving equipment and water into a hangar at the airport on June 28. Airmen assigned to Joint Task Force Bravo loaded equipment into a CH-47 Chinook helicopter at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, on June 25 in preparation for potential support to Venezuela.

U.S. military operations, directed by U.S. Southern Command, are self-sustaining, with personnel on the ground requiring no local resources as they work to deliver critical relief to the people of Venezuela. Miami-Dade Urban Search and Rescue personnel and Virginia Task Force 1 are among the teams supporting site surveys and rescue operations.

The USS Fort Lauderdale remains a central node for coordinating and moving assistance ashore while providing medical capacity as aid deliveries continue and additional support is coordinated with Venezuelan authorities and international partners.