US sends warships, planes and Marine general to Venezuela after earthquakes

The United States is sending hundreds of personnel, two warships, fixed and rotary-winged aircraft, and search and rescue teams to Venezuela in the wake of Wednesday’s earthquake that killed more than 500 people. The first arrivals, with a Marine Corps general leading them, reached Caracas Thursday night.

“[U.S. Southern Command] is surging available assigned U.S. military forces in our region to support U.S. government relief operations in Venezuela, following the devastating earthquakes that struck the nation June 24, 2026,” the command announced in a statement Thursday.

Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Kevin J. Jarrard, who previously commanded the 4th Marine Division, arrived in Caracas on Thursday. He will be the main military official on the ground and will oversee the military response to the disaster, Southern Command said. The exact number of military personnel deploying hasn’t been disclosed, but is in the hundreds and is pulled from multiple branches. Meanwhile, the first Air Force C-17, carrying load-moving equipment, arrived as well, as more Air Force planes ferry in U.S. Urban Search and Rescue teams.

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The State Department said earlier that the U.S. was sending search and rescue teams along with humanitarian assistance after a pair of back-to-back earthquakes, one 7.2-magnitude and one 7.5, hit Venezuela Wednesday night. As of press time, at least 589 people are believed dead.

C-17 Globemasters and C-130 Hercules planes are being dispatched from bases, including Dover Air Force Base, to airlift aid and relief teams. The first planes with equipment and search and rescue teams arrived on Friday, according to the U.S. embassy in Caracas. 

Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Kevin Jarrard arrived in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday night. U.S. Southern Command photo.

Rotary-wing aircraft stationed in the region are flying in assistance teams. Marine Corps MV-22 Ospreys carried an airfield assessment team to Venezuela to assist in airlift operations. Additionally, three Army CH-47 Chinooks with Joint Task Force-Bravo flew supplies in as well. The force, based out of Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras, is the U.S. military’s main response force in Central America and has routinely mobilized disaster relief missions, including one to Jamaica late last year after a hurricane flooded large parts of the island. 

“Assigned U.S. military forces will utilize fixed and rotor wing aircraft to provide specialized mobility services and assist U.S. Government personnel, search and rescue teams, and partners assessing damage and delivering critical life-saving assistance,” U.S. Southern Command said in a release Thursday night.

Two warships, the littoral combat ship USS Billings and the USS Fort Lauderdale,  an amphibious transport dock, arrived in the waters near Venezuela. The Fort Lauderdale is currently dispatched to support Littoral Combat Force-24, an “immediate crisis response force” in the Caribbean built around the 24th Marine Expeditionary Force. Those Marines, who deployed this spring, are based in Puerto Rico and on the ship. The USS Fort Lauderdale has spent months in the Caribbean, having been a part of the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group that deployed as part of the surge of American military forces prior to the attack on Venezuela in January. 

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