US Troops Unload China’s Lone Aid Flight in Quake-Hit Venezuela as American Relief Effort Grows

U.S. troops unloaded what INC News has been told is the only aid flight China has sent to Venezuela to date, as the country continues to struggle in the aftermath of last month’s back-to-back earthquakes.

Images released by the U.S. government show an Air China aircraft arriving at Simón Bolívar Airport on July 6, nearly two weeks after the June 24 quakes.

The Chinese government’s relief supplies were then offloaded by U.S. soldiers, who have been directing much of the disaster response and aid distribution on the ground.

In the photos provided to INC News, U.S. service members can be seen removing large packages from shipping containers, using heavy vehicles to move and sort pallets on the tarmac, and loading boxes onto trucks for delivery.

“Secretary Rubio promised the Trump administration’s response to the devastating earthquakes in Venezuela would be big, fast and effective. We continue to deliver on that commitment,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement to INC News.

“While some countries say they’ll deliver aid — weeks after natural disasters occur — America shows up, unloads the aid and ensures that assistance reaches the hands of those who truly need it thanks to our close coordination with the Department of War and the great public-private partnerships our Department has spearheaded.”

Since the earthquakes hit on June 24, the United States has brought more than 1.5 million pounds of assistance into Venezuela, according to the State Department.

A big part of that was repairing Simón Bolívar Airport, which sits just outside the capital city of Caracas after its runways were seriously damaged in the natural disaster.

“The U.S. military was able to repair that airfield and get it up and running to allow for C-17 and other large aircraft to land there. And that’s very important as we continue to obviously get international relief supplies in,” a senior State Department official told reporters in late June.

One runway is operational at the airport, and one of the first American flights into the airport was carrying forklifts to help get supplies unloaded off future flights, according to the State Department official.

Florida-based Global Empowerment Mission (GEM), one of the leading nonprofits gathering and sending aid to Venezuela, said it aims to deliver 100,000 boxes of supplies monthly for the next three to six months, according to The Associated Press.

According to GEM’s website, it has shipped nearly 1 million pounds of aid. This includes over 38,000 hygiene kits, more than 27,000 tents and tarps and 48 generators.

GEM founder and President Michael Capponi told the AP delivering aid to Venezuela now is a “whole different animal” compared to when he tried to send supplies during the reign of Nicolás Maduro.

Maduro, who was captured and deposed during a U.S.-led raid Jan. 3, did not allow Capponi into the country.

“We land a private plane. It gets unloaded by U.S. soldiers. It goes in a truck we pay for and to a warehouse that we completely control. It doesn’t touch the hands of the Venezuelan government,” he said.

The State Department said July 9 that the U.S. government has committed more than $386 million in financial assistance to Venezuela flowing through trusted partner groups. 

The Chinese foreign minister announced in late June a $14.72 million commitment for financial and material aid to Venezuela, according to Chinese state-run media.

Nearly two weeks after the earthquakes struck, Chinese state media reported about what they called the first batch of aid arriving at Simón Bolívar International Airport on July 6. State media said Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil and Chinese Ambassador to Venezuela Lan Hu received the shipment, said to include tents and generators, at the airport.

In late June, the U.S. also mobilized more than 300 search and rescue personnel throughout the country. 

The Miami Herald reported last week that those teams left after they “completed their mission.”

As of Tuesday, 4,734 people have died from the earthquakes, according to figures released by the Venezuelan government, cited by Reuters. Additionally, there are at least 16,740 people injured, while nearly 18,000 people are homeless.

The earthquakes have destroyed 190 buildings and damaged over 850, Venezuelan officials told the AP.