The Secretariat of National Defense (Defensa) issued a statement detailing the aid Mexico sent to Venezuela after the earthquakes on June 24, which caused building collapses in the capital and other states, resulting in hundreds of fatalities.
According to the official report, the contingent consists of 261 personnel and over 15 tons of equipment, medication, and medical supplies, all arriving in the South American nation aboard three Mexican Air Force planes.
The deployment was ordered by President Claudia Sheinbaum.
The first two strategic transport planes departed at 2:30 p.m. (Central Time) from the Santa Lucía Air Base in the State of Mexico. A third aircraft—a C-130 Hercules—was scheduled to depart shortly thereafter carrying 8 tons of medication and an additional 4 tons of search-and-rescue equipment, according to the Defense statement.
The two earthquakes, measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude, struck Venezuela just 39 seconds apart, plunging the country into a state of emergency. On the night of June 25, Health Minister Carlos Alvarado announced during a broadcast on the state-run channel Venezolana de Televisión that the preliminary death toll stood at 235, with 4,300 people injured.
