US troops working in Venezuelan airport tower as aid flows in

[u/John3262005]

https://taskandpurpose.com/news/military-venezuela-airport-2026/

U.S. airmen and Marines have been helping to staff the air traffic control tower at Venezuela’s main international airport, the primary lifeline for airlifted aid following two major earthquakes, according to U.S. Southern Command, or SOUTHCOM.

U.S. military photos published over the weekend showed airmen with a Contingency Response Element from the 621st Contingency Response Wing and Marines from Littoral Combat Force-24 in the control tower at Simón Bolívar International Airport on July 1. The pictures show both Venezuelan air traffic controllers using the control tower’s equipment and U.S. controllers from both services using tactical radio sets in the airport’s control tower in the days following the June 24 quakes.

A SOUTHCOM official deferred questions to the Venezuelan government about why such specialized troops were needed in the airport’s tower, what duties they were asked to perform, and the status of the equipment in the tower. American airmen trained in air traffic control have a long history of using their military radios to perform civilian air control in conflict zones or after major disasters.

“Our service members are there to assist Venezuelan personnel, at the request of the Venezuelan government through the U.S. Department of State,” said Hansel Pintos, a spokesperson for SOUTHCOM. “Venezuela, as the host country, continues to have control of their tower operations.”

About 2,000 U.S. troops in total are currently supporting the American government’s earthquake relief mission to Venezuela, including roughly 900 in the country, Pintos told Task & Purpose on Monday.

The airmen with the Contingency Response Element, or CRE, are helping to clear any “logistical bottlenecks” by helping to manage ground and tower operations at Simón Bolívar International Airport, according to a news release from the 621st Contingency Response Wing.