A United States congressman has urged the Trump administration to deploy one of the U.S. Navy’s two hospital ships to Venezuela following the devastating earthquakes that have killed more than 1,400 people and pushed the country’s already fragile healthcare system to breaking point.
Representative Jared Moskowitz has written to Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, calling for the immediate deployment of either the USNS Comfort or the USNS Mercy to bolster humanitarian relief efforts. “The earthquakes have killed over a thousand people and injured thousands more, with thousands more people unaccounted for.
The USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy can save lives,” Moskowitz said. In his letter, the congressman argued that the Navy’s hospital ships are uniquely equipped to provide advanced surgical care, emergency medicine, intensive care, diagnostic services and inpatient treatment, while also serving as command platforms to support wider humanitarian operations.
He cited the deployment of the USNS Comfort in the aftermath of Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake as a proven example of the ships’ ability to deliver life-saving medical assistance during major disasters. The USNS Mercy has been at the Vigor Shipyard in Portland, Oregon, since March undergoing a scheduled multi-month maintenance programme after transiting from the Gulf Coast.
Its sister ship, the USNS Comfort, has also been undergoing maintenance at Alabama Shipyard. The U.S. Navy has yet to provide an update on the operational readiness of either vessel, leaving uncertainty over how quickly one could be activated for an emergency humanitarian mission.
Moskowitz acknowledged that deploying a hospital ship would require close coordination with the Venezuelan government, international humanitarian organisations and regional partners. Nevertheless, he insisted that the scale of the disaster justifies such an intervention.
His appeal comes as U.S. military assets are already supporting rescue operations following last week’s powerful seismic doublet, which triggered widespread destruction across northern Venezuela, leaving thousands injured, displaced or still missing.