Cozumel, Quintana Roo — The Mexican Air Force, part of the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena), is using the Cozumel International Airport as a staging point to deliver humanitarian aid to Venezuela following the double earthquake that struck the country on June 24.
Captain Jesús Meneses Canchola of the Air Force in Cozumel said military aircraft depart from the main Air Force base and land at the Cozumel base, where immigration and security inspections are completed before continuing to Venezuela.
So far, five aid flights have been dispatched, carrying 240 army personnel, eight canine teams from Sedena, and ten from the National Guard. The flights also transported 11 Air Force members, 13.1 tons of medicine, 4 tons of rescue equipment, eight power generators, and 80 kg of medical supplies from the Mexican Red Cross.
Meneses said the resources aim to help restore basic services and strengthen medical care in the hardest-hit communities, while emergency response efforts continue.
He urged people wishing to donate supplies for Venezuelan victims to bring them to collection centers in Cozumel. Once received, Sedena will document and assign them to flights.
Although he did not have exact figures on rescues, Meneses noted that Sedena personnel recently found a girl alive trapped under rubble.
The captain praised the intense and heroic work of military personnel in Venezuela.
The twin earthquakes on June 24 devastated parts of Venezuela, with authorities reporting over 1,700 dead, more than 5,000 injured, and over 15,000 affected. The cities of La Guaira and Caracas were the worst hit.
