Military responds swiftly to devastating Venezuelan earthquakes

By Sarah Roderick-Fitch
The Center Square

The U.S. has already begun deploying several civilian and military assets to Venezuela following two massive earthquakes.

The South American country was struck by a 7.2 and 7.5 earthquake Wednesday, leading to dozens of collapsed buildings and a rising death toll, with multiple reports indicating the number has risen to over 900.

U.S. Southern Command is leading on-the-ground operations on behalf of the U.S. Department of War and the State Department. SOUTHCOM announced Friday that it is “surging airlift, sealift, and logistics capabilities,” including two naval ships.

The USS Fort Lauderdale and USS Billings, which were deployed to the Caribbean in support of counter-narco operations, were diverted to “waters near Venezuela.”

In addition to the ships, two C-17 Globemasters were carrying urban search-and-rescue teams, likely from Fairfax County, Va., and Los Angeles, as announced Thursday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The search and rescue teams include “80 experts per team,” comprising firefighters, doctors, structural engineers and specialty-trained canines, according to the U.S. Embassy in Caracas.

The U.S. is also delivering load-movement equipment, an airfield assessment team and three U.S. Army Chinooks to support “critical airlift,” according to SOUTHCOM.

Several countries from around the world are jumping in to assist Venezuela, including Mexico, El Salvador and Colombia.

Rubio described to reporters Thursday what some of those operations may look like in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.

“We’re also helping them with some overhead imagery, especially in coastal areas where they don’t have full visibility over what the damage has been and what the impact has been. Those are acute, like short-term needs over the next 48 to 72 hours,” said the secretary of state.

Rubio said there will also be long-term needs in Venezuela, such as housing. He said the U.S. will also assist in restoring communications and in managing what he expects to be a “surge of private donations.”

The U.S. is no stranger to assisting other nations in the wake of natural disasters, even deploying military assets.

Following the 2011 9.0 earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the U.S. launched Operation Tomodachi, involving over 20,000 American service members.

One hundred and eighty-nine aircraft and 24 U.S. Navy vessels, including the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, participated in humanitarian efforts. It has been estimated that the then Department of Defense committed $88.5 million in assistance for the disaster, “out of a total of $95 million from the U.S. government,” according to a congressional report on the disaster.