Guyanese soldiers on standby for humanitarian mission to earthquake-hit Venezuela

Last Updated on Sunday, 28 June 2026, 13:41 by Denis Chabrol

Guyana Defence Force (GDF) soldiers are to being mobilised to possibly travel to neighbouring Venezuela to assist with  recovery efforts in the aftermath of last Wednesday’s deadly earthquakes that killed 1,430 persons and injured 3,200 others.

As the search continues for more than 50,000 others, President Irfaan Ali on Saturday said GDF soldiers would travel to Venezuela to assist. “We have offered to have a team from the Guyana Defense Force on the ground to help in the recovery efforts in Venezuela,” he said.

No further details were provided about whether Venezuela accepted the offer and when the Guyanese soldiers would depart.

Meanwhile, a cargo vessel is expected to leave Guyana next Friday with 8,000 tonnes of food, pharmaceuticals and other emergency supplies that were being provided  by the local private sector and coordinated by the Civil Defence Commission. Dr Ali said St Kitts and Nevis has already agreed to donate two containers of pre-packed food items and one container of pharmaceuticals.

He said the boat is expected to leave Guyana on Friday and arrive in Venezuela next Tuesday.

A GDF representative told a livestream Saturday afternoon that the military and the CDC would provide personnel to man and staff the collection point. The facility would open 24 hours daily to allow persons to deliver their donations for sorting and packing before moving on to the vessel for departure on Friday.  The Muslim Youth Organisation (MYO) Ground, Woolford Avenue, Georgetown has been designated as one of the major collection points.

Chief Executive Officer of BK Group of Companies, Brian Tiwarie said another 7,000 vessel would be on standby “just in case as we get more containers so that we can send two vessels at the same time.”

Last Wednesday’s “seismic doublet” measuring 7.2 and 7.5 in magnitude struck northwestern Venezuela, wreaking havoc in the worst such earthquake since 1900. On Saturday, another powerful earthquake, with a 4.8 magnitude, was detected off the coast of Venezuela.