CARICOM Relief Vessel Sails From Guyana With Aid for Earthquake-Stricken Venezuela

Late Monday, a cargo vessel loaded with close to 90 containers of food, medical goods, and other essentials sailed from Port Georgetown, heading for Venezuela, where a powerful earthquake late last month has claimed nearly 4,000 lives.

Officials said the shipment forms part of a wider Caribbean Community (CARICOM) push by member states to assist a neighbouring country in crisis. Goods on board came from Belize, The Bahamas, St. Lucia, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

The vessel is also carrying 300 large black plastic water tanks and two heavy-duty excavators. Relief workers from around the world are using such equipment to clear rubble from collapsed buildings, as operations move from rescue efforts toward recovering bodies.

Finance Minister Ashini Singh and other officials watched the ship depart and commended the breadth of support from local and regional actors.

"We saw a significant government effort, but we also saw a remarkable response by the Guyanese private sector. We saw a remarkable response by Guyanese citizens. We saw a remarkable response by Venezuelan citizens living in Guyana. I referred earlier to the effort as a national and regional effort, because President Irfaan Ali also reached out to his CARICOM counterparts, heads of government across CARICOM- and several of his counterparts across CARICOM responded favorably," the minister told reporters.

Singh said the regional cargo will be handed to senior United States relief officials already working inside Venezuela.

"we are in close contact with our U.S. counterparts who have a presence on the ground, and so these goods will be delivered to the U.S. team that is present in Venezuela for consolidation into the broader mobilization effort and for deployment in an optimal manner for the benefit of the Venezuelan people," Singh stated.

Haiti, though facing its own deep financial pressures, has added to the regional response by sending 29 highly trained medical specialists in orthopaedics, surgery, anaesthesiology, gynaecology, and internal medicine.

After nearly five years of attacks on state institutions by heavily armed insurgent groups, Haitian officials said they still felt compelled to help and included 5.5 tons of essential medical supplies in the effort.

"We did not come here to deliver leftovers, but to share what little we have with the Bolivarian people of Venezuela, as a sign of solidarity and fraternity. We did not send a consultative delegation. We came with specialists ready to make themselves available to the Venezuelan government for 15, 20, or 30 days, or even as long as necessary," said Health Minister Sinal Bertrand.