Colombia: Colombia sends elite rescue team to aid quake-stricken Venezuela.

Shotlist Bogota, Colombia - June 25-26, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland) 1. Various of Julio Cesar Bojaca, firefighter, with German shepherd rescue dog Dastan 2. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Julio Cesar Bojaca, firefighter (starting with shot 1/ending with shot 3-4): "People often approach us in these missions and say ‘help us, I hear my family member under the rubble’. And the idea with Dastan is to get there and find them fast, and with the rest of the rescue team get to the person." 3. Julio Cesar Bojaca, Dastan 4. Various of rescue team members making preparations 5. Rescue, emergency equipment 6. Various of rescue team members making preparations 7. Various of Santiago Jimenez, doctor, making preparations 8. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Santiago Jimenez, doctor: "The first thing we need to do is set up an intelligence base when we arrive to be able to provide a physical and psychological working space for all the teams. These terrains are difficult and to survive in difficult terrains we need to evaluate risks and see what extra tools we will need moving forward-other than what we are already taking." 9. Various of Luisa Maria Pineda, Envigado's firefighter 10. SOUNDBITE (Spanish) Luisa Maria Pineda, Envigado's firefighter (starting with shot 9): "I'm motivated to save lives, that is what we have trained for and are prepared for. We are going to save the most people possible." 11. Various of rescue team members heading to airplane 12. Equipment being loaded on airplane Storyline Colombia has sent an elite urban search-and-rescue team to Venezuela, after a devastating pair of earthquakes caused heavy casualties and widespread destruction. The search-and-rescue team known as USARCOL-1 is designated by the United Nations as one of the most highly specialized rescue teams on the American continent. It is made up of more than 60 Colombian specialists, four canine teams, and 12 tons of equipment, which are being deployed as part of the first phase of Colombia's humanitarian assistance to Venezuela. USARCOL-1 members Dastan, an eight-year-old German shepherd rescue dog and his handler, firefighter Julio Cesar Bojaca, were preparing for deployment last week at the Center For Logistics for National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD) in the Colombian capital Bogota. "People often approach us in these missions and say ‘help us, I hear my family member under the rubble’. And the idea with Dastan is to get there and find them fast, and with the rest of the rescue team get to the person," said Julio Cesar Bojaca. The mission brings together firefighters, Civil Defense personnel, Colombian Red Cross workers, police rescue units, Navy and Army staff, and is provided with strategic transport support by Colombia's Aerospace Force. Santiago Jimenez, a doctor with 16 years of experience who has previously served on emergency missions in Haiti and Chile, said fear is inevitable, but training gives rescuers the support to keep moving. "The first thing we need to do is set up an intelligence base when we arrive to be able to provide a physical and psychological working space for all the teams. These terrains are difficult and to survive in difficult terrains we need to evaluate risks and see what extra tools we will need moving forward-other than what we are already taking," said Santiago Jimenez. The Colombian team is heading into a difficult and evolving emergency. International reports say hundreds have died, thousands have been injured, and rescue teams are still searching through collapsed buildings in some of the hardest-hit areas. This will be the first rescue mission abroad for Luisa Maria Pineda, a firefighter from the Colombian city of Envigado. She said the team has trained to move as one -- relying on discipline, coordination, and the deep trust that is vital to the team's rescue efforts. "I'm motivated to save lives, that is what we have trained for and are prepared for. We are going to save the most people possible," she said. Colombian officials said additional needs, including hospital care and humanitarian assistance for affected communities, will be defined once damage assessments are clearer. For now, the team's focus is rescuing as many earthquake victims as they can. The death toll from the powerful twin earthquakes that struck Venezuela on Wednesday has risen to 920, with 3,360 people injured, Venezuelan National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said on Friday.