Portugal prepares urgent mission to Venezuela after fatal earthquake, five Portuguese nationals reported missing

After the powerful earthquake that struck Venezuela and left victims as well as considerable damage, Portugal is preparing to send an emergency rescue mission to the Latin American country.

The confirmation came from Portugal’s Foreign Minister, Paulo Rangel, who announced that a team of around 50 specialists is on standby to be sent to the affected areas.

According to him, the mission includes specialized gendarmerie units for rescue operations, civil protection teams, police officers with search dogs, as well as medical staff, including two doctors and two nurses.

The deployment of this team will depend on logistical coordination and cooperation with the Venezuelan authorities, as Portugal is closely monitoring the situation on the ground.

Portuguese authorities said that so far there is no information about any victims among their nationals, but they have confirmed that five Portuguese citizens are missing in the La Guaira region, north of Caracas. Among them are four members of the same family.

Earlier in the day, President José Seguro and Prime Minister Luis Montenegro expressed their support and solidarity with the Venezuelan people, as well as with the Portuguese community living in the country, sending messages to all those affected by the disaster.

Venezuela has one of the largest Portuguese communities outside Portugal’s territory, with around 200,000 citizens of Portuguese origin. According to the Foreign Ministry in Lisbon, this is the second-largest Portuguese community in Latin America, formed by waves of emigration that began in the 1940s and continued until the 1980s.