Portugal carries out repatriation flight for citizens wishing to leave Venezuela

Portugal has carried out a repatriation flight for Portuguese citizens and their families wishing to leave Venezuela following last week’s devastating earthquakes, as the government steps up its response to assist one of the country’s largest overseas communities.

The evacuation operation was coordinated by the Portuguese Embassy in Caracas and used one of the Portuguese Air Force aircraft returning after delivering emergency personnel and humanitarian aid to the disaster-stricken country.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a transfer from the Portuguese Consulate-General in Caracas to Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía was scheduled for early this morning. The airport is operating with limited capacity following last Wednesday twin-earthquakes.

Passengers were instructed to travel with no more than five kilograms of luggage and to bring their own food and water.

The Portuguese government said priority on the flight was for the most vulnerable people, including injured citizens, those with health problems, elderly passengers, children and families without the means to leave Venezuela independently.

The evacuation comes as Portugal’s diplomatic network continues to assess the impact of the earthquakes on the Portuguese and Luso-descendant community in Venezuela, focusing on locating citizens, providing consular assistance and helping those who wish to return to Portugal.

Portugal has already deployed two Portuguese Air Force aircraft carrying emergency response teams and dozens of tonnes of humanitarian supplies to support international search, rescue and relief operations.

The government has indicated it is prepared to expand its assistance if conditions on the ground deteriorate (as they show every sign of doing).

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it will continue to monitor developments in coordination with the Venezuelan authorities and European partners while providing ongoing support to Portuguese nationals who remain in the country.

Venezuela is home to one of the largest Portuguese and Luso-descendant communities outside Europe, particularly in Caracas and other major cities, making the consular response especially significant as residents continue to face damaged infrastructure, disrupted communications and the threat of further aftershocks.

The repatriation plan also follows delays in deploying Portugal’s specialist search and rescue team after its arrival in Venezuela, as the mission awaited formal authorisation from the Venezuelan authorities before beginning operations.

The new evacuation flight marks a further step in Portugal’s efforts to assist both the wider humanitarian response and its own citizens affected by the disaster.

Meantime, poignant GoFundMe appeals have been launched, some by Venezuelan citizens living outside the country (as so many do, because conditions under the Bolivarian regime have been so dire). The following link gives some of the background to this disaster, suggesting it was ‘waiting to happen’ considering the government’s rebuilding of areas that were known to be vulnerable to natural disasters, without any kind of reinforcement specifications.

On the ground, in Venezuela, today, local feeling against the administration of Delcy Rodriguez is increasing. Maria Corina Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize winner who has fought years to bring democracy back to her shattered country is reported to be considering that the time is right, finally, for her return. Curiously, senior United States officials are described as “frustrated” by this decision, suggesting the time is not right. It is not clear for whom the time is not right. Elsewhere, media reports have said that since ‘taking over Venezuela’, the United States’ administration has sold over 100 million barrels of Venezuelan oil.

Source material: Executive Digest/ Reuters/ Council on Foreign Relations