A group of 10 Puerto Rican doctors, led by former Puerto Rico Health Secretary Carlos Mellado, returned home after witnessing devastation in Venezuela following a June 24 double earthquake. In a phone interview with El Nuevo Día, Mellado described conditions marked by infectious diseases, displacement, and exhaustion among victims and rescue teams. The delegation arrived Monday in La Guaira, one of the hardest-hit areas, and toured it "corner to corner" after overcoming initial government resistance once officials realized the group was medical, not political.
The doctors treated survivors and donated medicine—including saline solution, scabies treatment, and antibiotics—directly to those in need and to local clinics. Mellado reported cases of cholera, scabies, conjunctivitis outbreaks, and respiratory issues from dust inhalation, and said rescue workers, including Mexican "topos" cave rescuers, showed signs of psychosis and fatigue from the disaster. He expressed concern that cholera, spread through water or food contaminated with infected feces, could kill many children and elderly people given the lack of sanitation services.
Mellado also described a disturbing scene of vultures eating human remains amid partially collapsed buildings, calling it the most shocking thing he witnessed during the trip.