The United States is mounting a large-scale humanitarian operation in Venezuela after twin earthquakes devastated the South American country, putting to the test Washington’s role as the most influential international partner in the country’s post-Maduro transition.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was deploying search-and-rescue teams, military logistics and humanitarian help after Wednesday’s magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes, which have killed at least 235 people and injured nearly 4,300.
Thousands more have been reported missing.
Washington also announced US$150 million in help to the South American country, to be disbursed through assistance partners on the ground.
A senior American military official arrived in Caracas to oversee US relief efforts, the US military said on Friday.
“US Marine Corps Major General Kevin J. Jarrard arrived in Caracas, Venezuela, today, to oversee Department of War support to Venezuela earthquake relief efforts,” said the US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), whose area of responsibility covers Latin America and the Caribbean.
SOUTHCOM is supporting relief operations by the State Department and Jarrard is serving as the senior SOUTHCOM official on the ground, it said in a statement on X.
“The interim Government of Venezuela formally requested US support following the earthquakes,” it said.
Since a US operation removed Nicolas Maduro from power earlier this year and brought him to the United States to face trial, senior American civilian and military officials have made repeated visits to Caracas, working closely with interim president Delcy Rodríguez on security cooperation, economic recovery and the return of US oil companies.
The devastating earthquake now provides the first major test of how that partnership performs under the pressure of a national emergency.
“This earthquake is the first real test of whether the post-January relationship has institutional depth beyond oil,” said Orlando J. Perez, a political scientist at the University of North Texas at Dallas.
The US State Department has already mobilised a disaster relief team and an inter-agency task force to coordinate the US response, according to senior official Jeremy Lewin, the department’s undersecretary for humanitarian affairs.
Working “with our partners in the interim Venezuelan government”, the United States will send search-and-rescue teams, medical and humanitarian supplies, and other resources during what Lewin described as the crucial first days after the disaster.
“When the lives of our friends are on the line, America moves,” said Secretary of Defence Peter Hegseth when announcing the US military will be involved in the aid efforts.
US emergency teams deployed to Venezuela, Rubio says
Rubio said emergency teams from Fairfax County, Virginia, and Los Angeles would be among the first to be deployed as part of a regional Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) coordinated by the State Department.
He added that the US Department of Defence would play a central logistical role after one of the runways at Caracas’s main international airport was damaged in the earthquakes, while the US was also providing overhead imagery to help Venezuelan authorities assess damage, particularly along the coast.
“Their most immediate need right now is search and rescue efforts,” Rubio said during a visit to Bahrain. “They have a bunch of collapsed buildings.
“The acute needs over the next 48 to 72 hours are search and rescue. We’ll have a whole-of-government response. It will be big. It will be fast. It will be effective.”
Asked whether the earthquake could derail Venezuela’s broader stabilisation process, Rubio said the administration’s immediate priority was the humanitarian response rather than its political implications.
“Right now, we’re worried that there are people trapped in rubble. We want to help them get out,” Rubio said. “The United States has always responded to humanitarian crises, especially in our own hemisphere. That’s what we’re focused on now.”
Rubio acknowledged the disaster was “a setback” for Venezuela’s stabilisation efforts but said he believed the country would emerge stronger from the tragedy, noting that other countries in the region, including El Salvador, had also stepped forward with offers of aid.
US Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) commander Lieutenant General Francis Donovan also issued a message of support following the disaster as rescue operations continued, underscoring the military’s role in the broader US response.
Interim president Rodriguez said she spoke by telephone with Rubio on Thursday, thanking him for expressing solidarity with Venezuelans affected by the disaster.
“We appreciate this expression of solidarity with Venezuela during such a challenging period, marked by the impact of the natural disaster that has affected several regions of the country,” she wrote on social media.
US President Donald Trump also pledged support, saying he had instructed federal agencies “to get ready to move quickly” to assist Venezuela.
Beyond the immediate effort to rescue survivors trapped beneath collapsed buildings, Rubio said US officials were already preparing for a longer recovery phase that would focus on restoring communications, assessing housing needs and coordinating private and international help.
He said Washington was already working with charities and regional partners, as other countries, including Qatar and Chile, offered help.
China to provide help ‘in light of Venezuela’s need’
China also expressed support for Venezuela’s government, saying it stood ready to provide help “in light of Venezuela’s need”.
In a statement posted on social media, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was confident that “under the leadership of the Venezuelan government, the people of Venezuela will recover and rebuild soon”.
In Caracas, the Chinese embassy urged Chinese nationals to monitor earthquake warnings, guard against aftershocks and secondary hazards, and immediately move away from coastal areas in affected regions, while keeping communication devices operational and contacting the embassy in an emergency.
Iran, Spain, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands also announced various forms of aid.
The earthquakes, among the strongest to strike Venezuela in over a century, caused widespread destruction across several states, collapsing buildings, disrupting electricity and telecommunications and forcing the closure of Simon Bolivar International Airport.
Perez said the next six months would reveal whether the new relationship extends beyond energy and security.
He said he would look for concrete reconstruction commitments backed by funding, civilian co-ordination mechanisms beyond the military, and engagement with institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank.
“If six months from now the only thing still functioning is the energy-security axis, this earthquake will have exposed the limits of the new alignment,” he said.
While SOUTHCOM has the capacity to respond to emergencies and previously supported reconstruction efforts in Haiti, Perez said rebuilding Venezuela would require capabilities once provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), including long-term development planning, sector expertise and sustained civilian engagement.
“Military assets handle emergencies well,” he said. “Rebuilding infrastructure and delivering services are different operations entirely.”
Perez said the disaster was also a test for Rodriguez’s government after two decades of infrastructure deterioration under the political system now in power.
“Whether it can actually direct international assistance rather than capture it will tell us more about where this transition is heading than any election date,” he said.
-- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST and Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
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