US sending elite search teams to Venezuela after deadly earthquakes: ‘Exactly what we train for’
US sending elite search teams to Venezuela after deadly earthquakes
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Prime Day ends tonight! Score these last-minute deals World NewsUS sending elite search teams to Venezuela after deadly earthquakes: ‘Exactly what we train for’
By Alex Diaz Published June 25, 2026, 3:21 p.m. ETSee more of our coverage in your search results.
Add The New York Post on GoogleAmerica’s premier search teams are headed to Venezuela to help find and rescue survivors among the rubble.
USA-01 and USA-02 — from Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue in Virginia and from Los Angeles — were activated within hours of the deadly quakes.
USA-01 is now waiting to fly 79 team members, 70,000 pounds of equipment and six sniffer dogs into the disaster zone.
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The elite crew, which mainly consists of firefighters but also deploys medics, engineers and dog handlers, has previously carried out missions in deadly natural disasters including the Haiti earthquake in 2010 and the Japanese tsunami of 2011.
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Both rescue teams carried out a training exercise just last month in Virginia to prepare for a large scale earthquake.
“The State Department are working on all options to get us there the fastest, so we’ll be out the door as soon as we possibly can,” public information officer John Morrison told The Post.
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“We specialize in reaching deeply entombed victims in collapsed reinforced concrete buildings that nobody else can get to.
“This kind of situation is exactly what we train for – we just had an exercise about a month ago with LA coming over to Fairfax County and for five days we prepared for a large scale earthquake in a dense urban core.
“So we’re ready.”
The announcement comes as the US military’s SOUTHCOM announced it is also mobilizing resources to help with earthquake response in the South American country – whose infrastructure has been decimated by decades of socialist rule.
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SOUTHCOM is responsible for operations in Central and South America and the Caribbean.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the Department of War — led by Pete Hegseth — would play a “big logistical role” in the response to the crisis.
Rubio told reporters during a visit to Bahrein that, although there was no specific dollar amount for the amount of aid the U.S. will be sending, President Trump has made “a full commitment to being supportive of Venezuela.”
“We have a whole-of-government response,” Rubio said. “It’ll be big. It’ll be fast and it’ll be effective.”
Relations between the two countries dramatically changed in January when elite Delta Force commandos carried out a high-stakes raid in Caracas to capture then-Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.
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Maduro has been in US custody since then awaiting trial on federal charges including narco-terrorism and drug trafficking.
President Trump said following the Caracas operation that the US would effectively run Venezuela until a “proper transition can take place”.
Acting Venezuelan president Delcy Rodriguez, who previously served as Maduro’s vice president, thanked Trump for his support following the earthquakes.
“We thank U.S. President Donald Trump and his administration, who have been in constant contact with Venezuelan authorities, offering support and solidarity to the people of Venezuela in the face of this tragedy that has plunged us into mourning,” Rodriguez wrote in English in a post on X.
“Venezuela will never forget the helping hand extended to our people during these difficult times.”
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Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
