US deploys military assets rescue teams to quake-hit Venezuela

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Washington will rely heavily on the Department of Defence to support humanitarian operations in Venezuela following the devastating earthquakes that struck the country.

Speaking to reporters in Bahrain, Rubio said he had held talks earlier in the day with Venezuelan official Delcy Rodríguez and outlined plans for an extensive US-led relief effort, Anadolu Agency reports.

“I had an opportunity to talk earlier this morning with Delcy Rodriguez, the acting president,” Rubio said.

The secretary of state noted that the United States has already begun deploying search-and-rescue teams from Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles, California.

“There'll be some others, we'll add, that's their most immediate need right now, is search and rescue efforts,” Rubio said, adding that several other countries have also offered assistance to Venezuela.

Rubio emphasized that severe damage to transportation infrastructure would require significant military support.

“The Defence Department is going to have to play a big logistical role here, because they have the ability to land in challenging places,” he said.

According to Rubio, the humanitarian mission will be substantial in scale and carried out with urgency.

“It'll be big, it'll be fast, and it'll be effective,” he said.

In addition to search-and-rescue operations, the United States is providing satellite and aerial imagery to help Venezuelan authorities assess the extent of the destruction.

“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,” Rubio said.

He added that Washington may also assist Venezuela in restoring critical communications infrastructure in the coming days.

“We may be able to help them restore their communications, their internet, their telecom, and so forth,” Rubio said, noting that the US government will remain in contact with several leading humanitarian organizations as relief efforts continue.

By Vafa Guliyeva