“We will continue our assistance, and Türkiye will remain by the side of the friendly people of Venezuela,” Karamanoglu added.
Gil thanked Türkiye for its solidarity, saying the support carried special significance for Venezuela.
“On behalf of Acting President Delcy Rodriguez, we extend our gratitude to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish government, the Turkish people, Türkiye’s ambassador and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, with whom I have remained in constant contact since the first hours after the earthquake.
“Türkiye, as always, was among the first countries to extend a helping hand from the very beginning of the disaster,” he said.
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Reconstruction phase begins
Recalling that Acting President Rodriguez had awarded the “Heroes of Venezuela Medal” to Turkish search and rescue personnel, Gil said: “We thank the disaster response brigade that led this effort and Türkiye’s highly trained specialists, who worked hand in hand with us during the search and rescue operations. We cannot find words to express our gratitude.
“Today, we are receiving another humanitarian aid shipment. Now, it is time to move on to the reconstruction phase.”
The reception ceremony was also attended by Brig. Gen. Mehmet Bahtiyar, commander of the Turkish Armed Forces Humanitarian Aid Brigade, along with officials from AFAD and UMKE, who were deployed to Venezuela after the earthquakes.
According to the US Geological Survey (USGS), Venezuela was struck by two earthquakes measuring magnitudes 7.2 and 7.5 just 39 seconds apart on June 24.
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) estimated on June 26 that the earthquakes caused $6.7 billion in direct physical damage.
Search and rescue operations remain underway, with concerns that the death toll and number of injured could continue to rise.
