Bukele honors 452 Salvadorans for humanitarian mission in Venezuela

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele honored 452 Salvadorans who took part in the humanitarian mission deployed to Venezuela following the devastating earthquakes that struck the country.

During a ceremony at Plaza de Banderas, Bukele recognized members of government agencies and emergency organizations who participated in search and rescue operations, medical assistance and humanitarian relief efforts.

Those honored included personnel from Civil Protection, the Armed Forces, the National Civil Police, the Ministry of Health, the Fire Department, the Salvadoran Green Cross, the Salvadoran Red Cross and Comandos de Salvamento.

Bukele said the 452 recipients were part of the contingent that traveled to Venezuela, while also recognizing another 77 people who remained in El Salvador to coordinate logistics, including transportation, equipment, medical supplies and humanitarian aid.

The president praised the teams for working in dangerous conditions, describing rescue operations inside unstable collapsed structures. He said one rescue effort lasted more than 60 hours, requiring crews to abandon one unstable tunnel and open another to reach people trapped beneath the rubble.