Acting President Delcy Rodríguez praised Vietnamese Ambassador to Venezuela Vu Trung My’s effective contributions to promoting and deepening the traditional friendship and comprehensive partnership between Venezuela and Vietnam.
From bottles of drinking water and fruit offered at rescue sites to heartfelt words of thanks, residents expressed their appreciation for the Vietnamese officers and soldiers who had travelled halfway around the world to help search for victims, provide medical check-ups, distribute free medicines, donate essential supplies and assist residents in moving their belongings.
Venezuelan officials expressed profound gratitude for Vietnam's timely assistance and selfless solidarity, affirming that the support will always be remembered by the Venezuelan people.
Ty described the twin quakes Venezuela’s deadliest seismic disaster in more than a century, with thousands killed. High temperatures accelerated the decomposition of victims still trapped beneath collapsed buildings.
The earthquake may have broken some of the strongest concrete steel, yet it failed to extinguish the kindness or the resilience forged in solidarity. Together, the La Guaira locals are enduring their longest days, held together by hands that refuse to let go.
The decoration honours the bravery, dedication and humanitarian spirit of the Vietnamese rescuers, who have risked their lives and overcome difficult conditions to assist people in the earthquake-hit areas.
All members of the Vietnamese rescue team in Venezuela have maintained strict discipline, a strong sense of responsibility and unwavering focus when carrying out search, rescue and disaster recovery tasks, with the determination to successfully fulfil the international humanitarian mission entrusted by the Party, State and military.
The latest recovery brings the total number of victims found by the Vietnamese mission to 45 since its deployment to the disaster zone.
Through Vietnamese Ambassador to Venezuela Vu Trung My, Acting President Delcy Rodriguez sent a letter of gratitude and presented the "Hero of Venezuela" medal to Party General Secretary and State President To Lam.
Without a word of resentment toward fate, the mother dropped to her knees, grasped the bloodied, scarred hands of a Vietnamese military engineer and repeatedly whispered through sobs: "Gracias, Vietnam!... Gracias..." ("Thank you, Vietnam!")
Giang praised officers and professional soldiers deployed to Venezuela in the aftermath of the powerful twin earthquakes that struck the Latin American country on June 24 night, causing heavy casualties and widespread devastation.
Vietnamese rescuers pulled seven more bodies from the rubble after twin earthquakes in Venezuela. They also worked with local authorities to identify and hand over 12 locations where victims are suspected to remain buried. The mission has so far recovered a total of 30 bodies from collapsed structures.
At the field meeting, Ambassador My inquiried about the team’s living and working conditions and commended the sense of responsibility, determination, and resilience demonstrated by officers and soldiers of the contingent. He emphasised that Vietnam’s deployment of search and rescue forces to assist Venezuela in overcoming natural disaster consequences is a noble gesture, reflecting a strong spirit of international solidarity.
Vietnam is among 30 countries that have deployed rescue teams to Venezuela. The Vietnamese team's greatest motivation is "a mission from the heart" and a determination to make every possible effort to save lives.
Working under harsh conditions, military and police personnel coordinated closely in multiple search teams, combining their expertise with specialised rescue equipment to locate survivors and victims as quickly and efficiently as possible.
After hours of intensive work, the Vietnamese rescue team successfully recovered the bodies of 11 victims from the rubble and handed them over to Venezuelan authorities.
Personnel from the Vietnam People's Army and the People's Public Security Force were deployed to different locations. In addition to their assigned missions, they also responded to requests from victims' families by searching nearby areas for those still missing.
The total volume of relief supplies amounted to 45.6 tonnes, including 35 tonnes of emergency rations, 4 tonnes of medicines, 2 tonnes of canned meat, four generators, 500 tents, 10 large relief shelters, and 50,000 rolls of medical bandages.
The head of the delegation, accompanied by several team members and representatives of the Venezuelan side, subsequently conducted a field survey in La Guaira to assess the situation and prepare for the deployment of personnel and equipment for search-and-rescue operations.
The presence of Vietnamese military personnel in earthquake relief and recovery is a vivid demonstration of the Venezuela – Vietnam traditional friendship and comprehensive partnership.
The flight is carrying 124 personnel from the Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Public Security, along with 10 search-and-rescue dogs and approximately 25 tonnes of humanitarian supplies, specialised equipment and rescue gear to support relief operations in the earthquake-affected areas.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Ministry of National Defence’s conference assigning tasks to personnel participating in the humanitarian and disaster-relief mission, Major General Ty, who is head of the Vietnamese military mission to Venezuela, also stressed that the deployment reflects Vietnam’s commitment to international solidarity and humanitarian responsibility.
Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister Senior Lieutenant General Le Van Tuyen said the deployment reflects not only humanitarian support but also international solidarity and the traditional friendship between Vietnam and Venezuela.
An 82-member military contingent was assigned to carry out humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in Venezuela, marking Vietnam’s third overseas military deployment for international disaster response.
During the mission, the Vietnamese force will use search dogs to locate victims trapped under collapsed structures, conduct urban search-and-rescue operations, provide emergency medical assistance to survivors, and carry out other humanitarian tasks to help Venezuelan authorities and local communities recover from the disaster.