Caribbean Community (Caricom) nations, many of them the beneficiaries of material assistance from Venezuela in recent decades, are mobilizing to send personnel and relief items to Venezuela in the aftermath of two devastating earthquakes in the past week.
The move followed calls from leaders in Guyana, Barbados, Jamaica, and Antigua, among others, with suggestions for cash, food, medical items, tents, tarpaulins, and other items to send to the South American nation.
At the weekend, Guyana, Barbados, St. Kitts, and Antigua all detailed the level of material assistance they were sending to Caracas this week, while Barbados said that it had sent a small team of military officers to establish a field hospital to treat injured Venezuelans, just as they had done for Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa came ashore last fall. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has already said the island is ready to help in any way it can.
Leading the regional effort so far is Guyana, which borders Venezuela to the west. Guyanese government officials said at the weekend that a vessel capable of ferrying up to 8,000 tons of food, water, clothing, medical supplies, and recovery equipment is being readied to sail by Friday as an urgent issue.
By then, President Irfaan Ali told reporters, at least three containers with food and other items from St. Kitts should also be on board, along with contributions from other regional bloc member nations.
The death toll from the mid-week quakes has climbed to nearly 1,500, with additional fatalities expected to be added to the tally. Ali said the 15-nation bloc will rally to assist Venezuela and that the region has to respond to the disaster as good neighbors.
“We are responding to one of the greatest humanitarian needs as a result of a disaster in Venezuela on a scale and magnitude that is unimaginable,” Ali said at a press briefing, surrounded by officials from the military, the private sector, and members of the disaster relief commission. “As a good neighbor, we must reach out. The people of Guyana stand ready to support in whatever capacity we can. We are outlining with great clarity the level of support from only from Guyana, but coordinating and collaborating with the rest of Caricom to provide support to the people of Venezuela. So far, we have mobilized close to 100 containers, including five containers with critical pharmaceuticals, rice, milk products, and diapers. The need is immense. This is not an easy task. It is an immense logistics operation.”
Guyanese soldiers are also being sent to help with recovery efforts on the ground in Venezuela. Antigua, meanwhile, has said it will contribute $150,000 to the relief effort from the region.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne recalled Venezuela sending planes to evacuate residents of sister island Barbuda after a recent hurricane, noting that is the federation’s turn to reciprocate. “That compassionate act of solidarity and good neighborliness remains deeply etched in the memory of our nation. It is an expression of friendship that Antiguans and Barbudans will never forget,” Browne said.
Jamaica and Barbados are also among member states that have pledged to participate in any regional effort and are likely to send their contributions this week. Ali and his team of government and private sector officials who spoke at the press briefing also said a second vessel is available to ship additional supplies, based on contributions from both state and private sectors. “The private sector is critically involved in this support and critically involved in the planning and execution of this operation,” he said. “We are a country with a large number of Venezuelan nationals who work and live here. That community and the general Guyanese communities would have reached out and responded in an unbelievable way.”
