U.S. surges troops, drones to support Venezuela earthquake relief

More than 900 U.S. military personnel moved into Venezuela and roughly 800 more staged in Puerto Rico and Curaçao to support earthquake relief, a deployment that pushed American forces into a crisis response inside a country usually defined by confrontation with Washington. U.S. Southern Command said the interim Venezuelan authorities formally requested U.S. assistance after the June 24 quakes, and that the mission was being carried out at Pentagon direction in support of State Department-led disaster aid.

Francis L. Donovan, the commander of U.S. Southern Command, said the operation already included search-and-rescue work, help reopening the airport and the use of air and naval assets to bring in humanitarian supplies. Southern Command said the deployed force included the amphibious transport ship USS Fort Lauderdale and the littoral combat ship USS Billings, while a humanitarian assistance center and refueling point were set up at the airport serving Caracas. Donovan also said at least four or five MQ-9 Reaper drones were flying over Venezuela and that a fusion cell in Miami was helping improve the intelligence picture for Venezuelan authorities.

The size of the American footprint underscored how quickly the relationship shifted. Donovan pointed to the January 3 raid that seized Nicolás Maduro and flew him to New York to face drug-trafficking charges, then contrasted it with the current cooperation with Venezuelan officials. The State Department said Donald Trump immediately authorized significant financial assistance, search-and-rescue efforts and coordination with the interim Venezuelan authorities. Reuters also reported that Washington was discussing up to $150 million in aid and easing sanctions.

The earthquakes struck with back-to-back force. The U.S. Geological Survey said the M 7.2 shock hit 39 seconds before the M 7.5 mainshock, which it located 28 kilometers southeast of Yumare in Yaracuy at a depth of 10 kilometers. The agency described the event as shallow strike-slip faulting near the boundary between the Caribbean and South American plates. United Nations agencies said more than 2,000 rescue workers from 27 countries were deployed, direct physical damage was estimated at $6.7 billion and nearly seven million Venezuelans could be affected.

By the sixth day of rescue efforts, the legislature’s leader said only one survivor, a 3-year-old child, had been found. The 72-hour golden window for saving trapped survivors had already passed, and public frustration over slow aid was growing as the death toll climbed. Associated Press also reported that more than 100 people deported from the United States just hours before the earthquakes were missing after being held in a hotel when the disaster hit.