The Daily Journal.- The United States delivered 20 remotely operated heavy machines to Venezuela to speed up the removal of debris left by the June 24 earthquakes, according to John Barrett, Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas.
The United States coordinated the delivery with U.S.-based TFI Solutions. The machines will operate in hard-to-reach areas, allowing crews to remove large amounts of debris without directly exposing workers to hazardous conditions. The company says it designed its remote-operation systems to support recovery and debris-management efforts in complex environments.
“The equipment will make it possible to remove hundreds of thousands of tons of debris quickly and safely in hard-to-reach areas and reconnect communities that became isolated after the earthquakes,” Barrett wrote on X.
The diplomat added that the delivery forms part of U.S. efforts to advance Venezuela’s reconstruction under the three-phase plan promoted by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Venezuela’s Vice Minister for Europe and North America, Oliver Blanco, said the U.S. Department of State provided the machines “on loan” and described them as high-capacity technology that will support efforts to remove debris left by the earthquakes.
According to Blanco, authorities have so far activated more than 650 work sites, with some 11,000 workers removing nearly 500,000 tons of debris, approximately 25% of the estimated total. Authorities expect the new machinery to accelerate recovery efforts.
The magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes that struck on June 24 mainly affected northern Venezuela. According to the latest official figures, crews have collected 528,222.30 tons of debris so far, representing 25.15% progress toward the clearance targets set by authorities.
