Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel awards service medal to rescuers who carried out search and relief operations after June 24 quakes.
Cuba has awarded its “For Courage During Service” medal to members of a search and rescue brigade that assisted victims and supported recovery efforts in Venezuela after two major earthquakes struck the country on June 24.
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President Miguel Díaz-Canel presented the distinction on Wednesday during a ceremony at the Portocarrero Hall of the Palace of the Revolution in Havana, recognizing the brigade’s work in search operations and assistance to families affected by the magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 earthquakes.
The Cuban rescue team arrived in Venezuela on June 28 and operated in the state of La Guaira alongside Cuban medical personnel and rescue teams from other countries during efforts to locate and assist victims of the disaster.
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Text Reads: President Díaz-Canel awards medals to Cuban rescuers who assisted in Venezuela.
They were awarded the “For Courage in Service” medal for their work following the devastating earthquakes of June 24 in that sister nation.
Lieutenant Colonel Rubén Eduardo Pupo, head of the mission, said the brigade arrived while aftershocks from the earthquakes were still being felt.
“We did not feel like strangers,” Pupo said, recalling the cooperation between Cuban medical teams, international rescue groups and local responders as they worked to save lives and support affected families.
Pupo said the rescuers refused to stop working until they were certain there were no remaining signs of life in the areas where they were deployed.
“For us, the greatest reward was the gratitude of the Venezuelan people,” he said.
The mission leader added that this commitment to service “is not learned from manuals” but is part of the values taught by the Cuban Revolution, centered on respect for and defense of human life. He said the brigade left Venezuela with a commitment to honor the legacy of Fidel Castro, Raúl Castro and former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.
The ceremony was attended by members of Cuba’s Political Bureau, including Interior Minister General Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casas; First Deputy Defense Minister and Chief of the Revolutionary Armed Forces General Staff Roberto Legrá Sotolongo; Vice Prime Minister Oscar Pérez Oliva; and other military commanders and officers.
The Cuban brigade was deployed as part of the response to the earthquake disaster, which caused more than 6,000 deaths and extensive material damage in Venezuela, according to information provided by Cuban authorities.
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