US commits $300m in aid for quake-hit Venezuela
The United States has pledged more than $300 million in funding to aid earthquake-hit Venezuela, the State Department said on Monday, up from a previous commitment of $150 million.
“These funds will provide emergency medical care, food assistance, water and sanitation, shelter, protection, and logistics,” the department said in a statement.
The money is being directed through partner organizations including Samaritan’s Purse, Catholic Relief Services, the International Organization for Migration, the World Food Programme and the Red Cross, the statement said.
Washington has also deployed four urban search-and-rescue teams to Venezuela that are made up of more than 300 first responders and almost two dozen search dogs, the statement added.
Devastating back-to-back 7.2 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes struck near Venezuela’s Caribbean coast last week, collapsing buildings, damaging the country’s main airport and leaving at least 1,450 people dead.
The US assistance for Venezuela comes as ties between Washington and Caracas have warmed in recent months after American forces captured former president Nicolas Maduro in January and the Trump administration began working with an interim government led by Delcy Rodriguez.
AFP
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