Under a decision signed by Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, the Vietnamese contingent was awarded the First-Class “Hero of Venezuela” Medal, while all of its 124 members received the Second-class “Hero of Venezuela” Medal.
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Representative of the Government of Venezuela presents the Second-class “Hero of Venezuela” Medal to individual members of the Vietnamese SAR contingent. |
This noble reward from the Venezuelan Government is to recognize and honor the exceptional dedication and contributions of both the contingent as a whole and its individual members in responding to the devastating twin earthquakes in Venezuela.
On July 6 (local time), representatives of the Venezuelan Government presented the “Hero of Venezuela” medals to the Vietnamese SAR contingent and its members.
Earlier, on July 3 (local time), Acting President Delcy Rodríguez visited and encouraged the Vietnamese contingent and personally present a letter of gratitude.
On that occasion, she also conferred the Meritorious Service Medal upon the contigent’s handler and service dog team in recognition of their outstanding achievements in SAR operations and relief efforts in Venezuela. Among them, the service dog Xu Kip had the honor of representing the team in receiving the decoration. Xu Kip had previously participated in SAR operations in Nu village, Vietnam’s Lao Cai province. Three other service dogs of the team had also taken part in humanitarian SAR and disaster relief missions following the earthquakes in Türkiye (2023) and Myanmar (2025).
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Second-class “Hero of Venezuela” Medals awarded to Vietnamese rescuers |
To date, the Vietnamese SAR contingent has recovered and handed over the bodies of dozens of earthquake victims found beneath the rubble to the local authorities, helping bring solace to the bereaved families and the people of Venezuela. Vietnamese rescuers have also provided free medical examinations and medicines, distributed relief supplies, and assisted local residents in relocating their belongings.
By Hoang Vu (from La Guaira, Venezuela)
Translated by Mai Huong